Gustavo Pacheco Awarded NIH Fellowship

Congratulations to Gustavo G. Pacheco, who received a F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual Predoctoral National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to investigate the role of adhesive and biomechanical signals in regulating the bioenergetic needs of migratory cells involved in tissue morphogenesis. His ongoing studies will focus on evaluating the contributions of integrin adhesion and signaling to mitochondrial behaviors during the collective migration of Xenopus mesendoderm cells.

Learn More

UVA Cell Biology Welcomes Dr. Joshua Wythe

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Joshua Wythe, a new Associate Professor in our Cell Biology Department, who recently relocated from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Josh’s research focuses on gaining a detailed mechanistic understanding of how endothelial cell identity is specified and maintained in the developing vertebrate embryo. His lab combines both zebrafish and mouse genetic models together with bioinformatics, functional genomics, and 3D imaging to investigate blood vessel development and pathogenesis. In addition to defining the transcriptional basis of endothelial organotypic plasticity and function in development, the Wythe lab aims to understand pathological angiogenesis leading to brain arteriovenous malformations and pathological angiogenesis in glioma. Josh is highly collaborative, and his work is cross-disciplinary and intersects with the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Developmental Genomics Center, the Cardiovascular Research Center and the Neuroscience Department. We look forward to having Josh onboard and working closely with him on exciting new projects.

Learn More

UVA Cell Biology Welcomes Dr. Elias Spiliotis

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Elias Spiliotis, a new Professor in the Cell Biology Department, who is arriving from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Elias’ research focuses on understanding the molecular, genetic, and cellular mechanisms of spatial organization in epithelia and neurons. He is a world leader in understanding the roles of septins, a mysterious class of GTP-binding proteins which play critical roles in regulating the cytoskeleton to generate and maintain cellular asymmetry. His lab uses cutting edge super-resolution microscopy, gene targeting, biochemistry and proteomics to investigate neuronal morphogenesis and disease, spatial control of intracellular transport, and cancer cell migration and invasion. We look forward to having Elias join our Department.

Learn More