Congratulations to Magdalena Magaj, who was been awarded a Wagner Fellowship! Magdalena is a graduate student in Dr. Stefanie Redemann’s lab, and one of 13 BIMS students honored by the Robert R. Wagner Fellowship Fund.
Magda’s work focuses on the mechanisms and mechanical principles of chromosome segregation during mitosis. Recent publications have highlighted the importance of the spindle midzone, the region between the chromosomes, for the process of chromosome segregation. The detailed mechanisms of midzone assembly and function during chromosome segregation has, however, remained elusive. A number of publications have led to a model of midzone formation and function in mammalian cells that relies on a combination of microtubule organization by bundling of antiparallel microtubules by PRC-1 (C.elegans spd-1), regulation of microtubule growth dynamics by KIF4a (C.elegans klp-19) and motor driven microtubule sliding by a EG5 (C.elegans BMK-1). Combining a detailed 3D structural analysis by electron tomography with state-of-the art light microscopy, Magda investigates how these different components contribute to the assembly of the midzone, as well as the force generation in order to drive chromosome segregation.