Prof. Orna Amster-Choder

As a molecular biologist, I want to find out how cells work. As an IMRIC researcher, I am examining how cells receive signals and respond to them and how outside stimuli trigger gene expression in the cell. Through our research at IMRIC we've shown that two groups of molecules — sensors that receive the signal and the regulators that give the ‘go-ahead’ to gene expression — cluster together at the cell membrane. When they receive the signal from outside the cell, they break apart, priming the cell to do its job effectively. Now that we know how it works, we've started to develop new tools to stop the transmission of bacterial infections and, hopefully, prevent their spread.