Our lab investigates cellular transport pathways that are essential for brain and muscle development and compromised in Alzheimer's disease. We combine cutting edge techniques from structural biology, biophysics, biochemistry, neuroscience and cell biology to establish the molecular mechanism for positioning of the nucleus in the cell by motor protein complexes along microtubules. Furthermore, we investigate how these cellular transport pathways are affected by associated neuromuscular and neurodegenerative  diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and spinal muscular atrophy, the most common genetic cause of death in infants. Our research is funded by the National Institute of Health grant R01 GM144578.