The College of Medicine’s Up-and-Comer
Musser's research focuses on how proteins pass through NPCs, giving biochemists a better idea of how these complex molecular machines work.
"Since numerous diseases are associated with slight alterations in NPC structure, differing expression levels of NPC proteins and altered nucleocytoplasmic shuttling properties of tumor suppressors, we seek to obtain a detailed understanding of the transport mechanism. We have to understand how it works before we can get to the point of proposing and testing solutions," Musser explained.
The group's research has yielded two important findings. First, they were able to precisely locate individual molecules in a complex system. The team was also able to pinpoint exactly how long a molecule spends bound to the nuclear pore and characterize the molecules' movement during this interaction time. Since it takes individual molecules approximately 10 milliseconds to pass through an NPC, and, in bulk assays, at least ~1,000 molecules can move through each pore every second, Musser's group has directly demonstrated the ability of NPCs to transport ~10 molecules simultaneously.
The research included in the paper was the result of work started back during his post-doctoral studies at Brandeis University just outside Boston. Always interested in how things worked, Musser gained a newfound interest in biology during college. He wanted to precisely understand how everything fits together, and certainly a biochemistry lab seemed like the perfect place to do that.
“I’ve been here a little more than three years now,” Musser said. “Mainly we’ve just been working to build the research group and set everything up, so this is our first publication out of this lab.”
If his work in the last few years is any indication of Musser’s productivity, it’s safe to say he’ll be one to watch.
