PhD
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Cell Biology
Area of Interest
The Baker lab is focused on the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis and exocytosis, with a particular emphasis on how recycling of cell surface receptors is regulated. Subversion of membrane trafficking, particularly at the cell surface, is implicated in a variety of human diseases, most notably cancer. The distribution and localization of many important therapeutic targets (GPCRs, receptor tyrosine kinases) must be precisely controlled at the plasma membrane. We use biochemical reconstitution, single-molecule biophysics, and high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy to understand how the cellular machinery controls the composition of its cell surface.
Awards and Honors
- Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2016-2019
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2011-2014
