Research interests

Axonemal motility

Motile cilia are fundamental to many physiological processes such as sperm cell locomotion, fluid transport in neuronal tissues and mucociliary clearance in the respiratory system. The motility of cilia is generated by the highly conserved internal structure called the axoneme. The movement of the axoneme is driven by the ATP-dependent activity of dynein motor proteins. The interplay between the activity of the dynein motors and the geometry of the axoneme leads to mechanical oscillations, even in the absence of the cell.

To investigate how axonemal motility is generated, I use in situ reconstitution approaches in combination with single-molecule in vitro techniques, high-speed imaging and theoretical analysis.

I am working closely with Veikko Geyer on this research project.