The Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology (CMCP) at the University of Virginia investigates the physical and chemical principles that govern cellular life. From membranes and proteins to dynamic molecular assemblies, we seek to understand how structure, mechanics, and interactions determine cellular function in health and disease.
Our guiding principle is simple but powerful:
To advance medicine, we must first understand the physical rules that govern living systems.
CMCP is a technology-driven scientific hub integrating high-resolution imaging, quantitative biophysics, structural biology, computational modeling, and advanced biochemical probes. By interrogating biological processes across spatial and temporal scales, we move beyond description toward predictive, mechanistic understanding.
The Center unites seven resident faculty and approximately 40 affiliated investigators across eleven departments and four schools. Together, we span fundamental discovery to clinically relevant insight, with applications in cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurological disorders, infection, and metabolic dysfunction.
Message from the Director
"The Center’s strength lies in its ability to integrate physical principles with biological insight, and I look forward to working with faculty, trainees, leadership, and partners across Grounds to harness those strengths for the benefit of human health.”
Research Areas
The Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology integrates molecular engineering, advanced imaging, and quantitative physiology to uncover how cellular systems function across scales and how their failure drives disease.
Center Faculty
Our team of professionals are leaders in their respective fields and consistently conduct cutting-edge research to advance human knowledge and improve human health.
Seven resident laboratories conduct research within the Center space, each pursuing a deeper understanding of cellular and membrane physiology:
Ai Lab
engineers molecular biosensors and protein systems to visualize otherwise invisible biochemical events in living cells and organisms. Using computational design, directed evolution, and synthetic biology—combined with advanced fluorescence and in vivo imaging—the lab links molecular chemistry to cellular and organismal physiology. These technologies enable discovery and support diagnostic and therapeutic applications, including disease monitoring and targeted protein interventions.
Ebrahim Lab
studies cytoskeletal architecture and dynamics to understand mechanosensing, force generation, and cellular organization in health and disease. Through live-cell and super-resolution microscopy, quantitative image analysis, and mechanical perturbation assays, the lab connects nanoscale cytoskeletal remodeling to cell migration, tissue structure, and pathology.
Gan Lab
investigates the three-dimensional organization of gene regulation within eukaryotic cells. Using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), cryo–correlative light and electron microscopy (cryo-CLEM), and advanced image reconstruction, the lab visualizes native nuclear complexes in situ, linking chromatin architecture to transcriptional control.
Kenworthy Lab
examines how membrane microdomains such as lipid rafts and caveolae organize signaling pathways and regulate autophagy.
Employing quantitative fluorescence microscopy, FRAP, single-particle tracking, and biochemical membrane assays, the lab defines how membrane heterogeneity and protein dynamics govern cellular homeostasis.
Levental Lab
elucidates how membrane composition and dietary lipids regulate cellular physiology. By integrating lipidomics, membrane biophysics, model membrane systems, and quantitative imaging of membrane order, the lab connects lipid composition to membrane structure, signaling, and metabolic regulation.
Redemann Lab
studies the molecular and physical principles governing spindle assembly and chromosome segregation. Using live-cell fluorescence microscopy, electron tomography, quantitative image analysis, and genetic perturbation, the lab dissects spindle architecture to understand mechanisms ensuring genome stability.
Tamm Lab
investigates the mechanisms of membrane fusion in viral entry, neurotransmitter release, and insulin secretion. Through structural biology, reconstituted membrane systems, biophysical fusion assays, and advanced microscopy, the lab defines how protein–lipid interactions drive membrane remodeling and fusion.
Collectively, these laboratories form a coherent ecosystem that integrates advanced imaging across scales—from molecular assemblies to whole cells and tissues—with quantitative biophysics and molecular engineering to understand how cells sense, organize, and respond to their environment, and how failures in these processes drive disease.
