David S. Cafiso

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David S. Cafiso
Born (1952-03-18) March 18, 1952 (age 72)
Alma mater
  • UC Berkeley
Scientific career
Fields
Structural Biology
Institutions

David S. Cafiso (born March 18, 1952) is an American

National Institute of Health
.

Research

Work in Dr. Cafiso's laboratory is directed at studying

PIP2), and regulate the activity of this phosphorylated inositol lipid within the cytoplasmic membrane. Dr. Cafiso is also interested in determining the membrane interactions made by protein domains such as C2 domains, which are found in a wide range of proteins involved in cell signaling
. C2 domains function to attach their parent proteins to membranes in a Ca ++ dependent fashion. C2 domains perform critical roles in membrane trafficking, membrane fusion and membrane repair, and defects in these domains result in forms of muscular dystrophy and deafness.

A second area of investigation involves membrane transport. Dr. Cafiso's laboratory is currently examining the molecular mechanisms that function to facilitate active transport. For example, he is interested in determining the molecular mechanisms by which BtuB transports vitamin B12 across the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. This protein is homologous to FecA, FepA and FhuA, outer membrane iron transport proteins that presumably function by similar mechanisms. These proteins belong to a class of transport proteins for which high-resolution structural models have been obtained, and they are extremely important for the survival of some bacterial pathogens. In addition to BtuB, FecA and FhuA, his team is expressing, reconstituting and labeling BtuC/D. This protein is member of the ABC cassette transporter family and it is responsible for carrying vitamin B12 across the inner membrane.

The primary tools that Dr. Cafiso uses in his research include

membrane proteins
.

Education and training

  • Univ. of California, Berkeley, Calif. A.B. 1974 Biophysics
  • Univ. of California, Berkeley, Calif. PhD 1979 Biophysics
  • Univ. of California, Berkeley, Calif. 1979 – 1980 Postdoctoral Study
  • Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. 1980 – 1981 Postdoctoral Study

Societies, service, and honors

  • Jane Coffin Childs Foundation Fellow, 1979–1981
  • Camille and Henry Dreyfus Award for Distinguished New Faculty in Chemistry, 1981
  • Member, NSF Biophysics Panel, 1990–1993. Member, NIH IRG Study Section
  • Ad Hoc Member, NIH BBCB study section, 1996–present
  • NIH Biomembranes Study Section, 2005
  • Editorial board, Biophysical Journal
  • Editorial board, Journal of Liposome Research
  • Editorial board, Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics
  • Biophysical Society: 1978–present
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science: 1980–present
  • American Chemical Society: 1981–present
  • Contributor,
    Faculty of 1000
    : 2001–present

References

  1. PMID 8396456
    .
  2. PMID 12958215
    .

External links
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