Weihong Qiu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Oregon State University
Postdoc Harvard Medical School
Ph.D. The Ohio State University
B.S. & M.S. Nankai University
Intracellular transport is essential for membrane dynamics, chromosome segregation, patterning the cytoplasm to generate macromolecular gradients, and cell- scale morphogenesis. Dynein and kinesin are microtubule-based molecular motors that transport a wide variety of cargos including membranous organelles, protein complexes, and mRNAs in eukaryotic cells. The molecular mechanisms of many dynein and kinesin- driven processes remain unanswered in spite of intensive research efforts. The Qiu lab studies the biophysical mechanisms of cellular processes driven by microtubule-based motors by developing and applying powerful molecular and biophysical methods including DNA nanotechnology, high-precision single-molecule imaging, and light-based control of single molecules.