Grossman-Haham Lab

We are fascinated by the beautiful structure of eukaryotic flagella & motile cilia and their ability to generate movement. Powering the locomotion of sperm cells, single-cell algae, kinetoplastids (such as Trypanosomes), and many other cell types, motile cilia are considered the largest eukaryotic machines! Motile cilia also create flow in the brain, airways, and female reproductive tract, which is essential for transporting various particles in these tissues. We use biochemical, structural, and biophysical methods to reconstitute and characterize individual ciliary complexes, with the overall goal of understanding better how cilia beat. We study ciliary proteins from various sources, including algae, mammals, and parasites.
 

Join us! We are looking for motivated and curious individuals who wish to take part in exciting research!

 

Dr. Iris Grossman-Haham
I received my B.Sc. in Chemistry and Biology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I then obtained my Masters and Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science. During my Ph.D. in Prof. Deborah Fass’s Lab, I studied the mechanism of the disulfide catalyst QSOX and developed inhibitory antibodies that can reduce tumor and metastatic load in murine cancer models. After graduating, I moved to San Francisco to pursue my postdoctoral studies with Prof. Ron Vale at UCSF. In the Vale lab, I studied the structure and function of radial spokes, which are big, mysterious protein complexes that are found in eukaryotic cilia.
In 2021 I returned to Israel to start my own lab in the Life Sciences Department at Ben-Gurion University. I am interested in how proteins interact with each other and form complex, interesting structures. Specifically, eukaryotic flagella and cilia are great places to find magnificent protein architectures! My goal is to figure out how the structures of protein complexes enable them to carry out their functions and what goes wrong in disease.