Faculty Member
Research interests center around the mechanisms of initial cell-cell adhesion and membrane trafficking at the molecular level in mammalian epithelial cells. My current research goals aim to determine how Rho GTPases are involved in stabilizing epithelial cell-cell adhesions and their upstream and downstream binding partners using cell imaging and biochemical techniques. Rho GTPases are molecular switches that can be turned on and off by GEFs (guanine nucleotide exchange factors) and GAPs (GTPase activating proteins), respectively to regulate various cellular processes. Determining the GEFs and GAPs involved in initiating, maturing, and maintaining cell-cell adhesion remains elusive. My current postdoctoral work focuses on the GEF Asef, which appears to have a role in the maturation and maintenance of endothelial (blood vessel) cell-cell adhesion. My current studies aim to determine whether Asef is involved in regulating endothelial adherens junctions, tight junctions, or both.
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About Khameeka Kitt-Hopper
Research interests center around the mechanisms of initial cell-cell adhesion and membrane trafficking at the molecular level in mammalian epithelial cells. My current research goals aim to determine how Rho GTPases are involved in stabilizing epithelial cell-cell adhesions and their upstream and downstream binding partners using cell imaging and biochemical techniques. Rho GTPases are molecular switches that can be turned on and off by GEFs (guanine nucleotide exchange factors) and GAPs (GTPase activating proteins), respectively to regulate various cellular processes. Determining the GEFs and GAPs involved in initiating, maturing, and maintaining cell-cell adhesion remains elusive. My current postdoctoral work focuses on the GEF Asef, which appears to have a role in the maturation and maintenance of endothelial (blood vessel) cell-cell adhesion. My current studies aim to determine whether Asef is involved in regulating endothelial adherens junctions, tight junctions, or both.
| 2017 - Present | Faculty Member, Saint Mary's College of California ‐ Biology | |
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| 2017 - Present | Faculty Member, Saint Mary's College of California ‐ School of Science | |
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| 2008 - 2014 | Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate in Biology Department, Stanford University | |
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Disciplines
Grants
| 2011 - 2013 | F32 NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship |
| National Institutes of Health | |
| 2010 - 2011 | Cancer Biology Postdoctoral Fellowship-NIH NRSA Institutional Fellowship |
| Stanford University |
Honors and Awards
- 2016 Notre Dame De Namur University (NDNU) Faculty Development Grant - Project title: Using Anatomical Models to Facilitate Student-Guided Inquiry Learning
- 2015 Science Undergraduate Research Grant (SURG) award from LI-COR Biosciences - for the purchase of an Odyssey Fc Imaging System
- 2011 American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Poster Award for 2nd place in Postdoctoral Poster Competition, Denver CO
Courses
- Bio 132: Cellular Biology
- Bio 137: Molecular Biology
- Bio 25/26: Human Physiology
- Bio13/14: Anatomy for Kinesiology
- Bio 001: Introduction to Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, and Genetics
| 2008 | Ph.D., Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Arizona | |
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| 2002 | B.S., Health Science, Saint Mary's College | |
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Links
Contact Information
Office: Brousseau Hall Rm 206
Phone: 925-631-4450
Email: