About

Alejandro Colman-Lerner , Ph.D. Investigator-IFIBYNE-CONICET, Buenos Aries, Argentina Co-Investigator- Center for Quantitative Genome Function Email: alernermolsci.org Tel: 510-981-8716 Colman-Lerner Lab Website Download NIH Biosketch (PDF format)

I am a co-investigator of the Alpha Project.  My efforts focus on using the mating response of baker's yeast as a model system for addressing general problems in biology.  My research includes investigations of cell-to-cell variation among yeast cells during the mating response, addressing the question of why individual cells, although genetically identical, will still oftentimes exhibit different responses to identical stimuli. While at MSI, I led the single cell analysis effort, and, together with Dr Andrew Gordon, developed microscopic methods and image analysis tools to extract quantitative information from thousands of individual cells over time. These data includes basic morphological parameters (e.g., volume and shape); dynamic intracellular protein localization via the use of different fluorescent protein reporters; and cellular physiology states (e.g., cell cycle position, gene expression capacity, rate of change in volume).

I recently moved to the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I am an independent investigator for the National Research and Technology Council. My laboratory continues research into how complex, system-level behaviors arise out of the workings of ensemble of cellular components.  We are expanding our research on the yeast pheromone response system to the response of cultured mammalian cell culture to signaling molecules (cytokines). This work is expected to increase our understanding of basic biological processes in human health, including signaling in cancer biology and embryonic development.

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