Functional roles of phase separation at the plasmamembrane 

Abstract: Research in the Veatch lab uses super-resolution microscopyand other methods to interrogate the structure and function of phase-relatedheterogeneity in plasma membranes.  This presentation will highlightrecent advances from the lab, including our work to demonstrate that membranephase separation contributes to the organization,  dynamics, and signalingactivity of proteins at B cell receptor clusters.  I will also discuss ourrecent theoretical work examining emergent properties of polymer rich dropletsat heterogeneous membranes, making predictions for how liquid-liquid phaseseparation in the cytoplasm couples to the distinct phase transition at theplasma membrane.