Henry Chang
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
Ph.D., University of California - Berkeley, 1995
hcchang@purdue.edu
765-494-0394
Membrane Biology
Cancer Biology
PULSe Contributor - not currently hosting students for laboratory rotations or recruiting students in the laboratory
Current Research Interests:
It is now clear that endocytosis is much more than cells "drinking" and "eating", but can directly regulate the activities of signaling molecules important for cell-cell communication. To understand this process further, we have focused on dissecting the roles of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in the Drosophila Notch pathway. The Notch pathway is a signaling cascade highly conserved in all metazoans, and has been implicated in a variety of developmental processes. Genetic data from several systems have suggested that, in the Notch pathway, endocytosis has an unusual role of activating the receptor by internalizing its ligand. Still, how this is accomplished remains poorly understood. We have identified mutants defective in endocytosis and in Notch signaling, and we are using a combination of molecular genetics and high-resolution microscopy to understand the functions of these genes.
Selected Publications:
Chang, H.C., Hull, M.J., and Mellman, I. (2004). The J-domain protein Rme-8 interacts with Hsc70 to control clathrin-dependent endocytosis in Drosophila. J. Cell Biol. 164, 1055-1064.
Chang, H.C., Newmyer, S.L., Hull, M.J., Ebersold, M., Schmid, S.L., and Mellman, I. (2002). Hsc70 is required for endocytosis and clathrin function in Drosophila. J. Cell Biol. 159, 477-487.
- Faculty Profile