Dr. Ori Avinoam

Biological membranes are universally conserved dynamic structures that constantly change their shape and composition to drive biological functions. 

We are interested in understanding how cellular membranes gain their exquisite architecture and how subdomains of the membrane can be reshaped into functional structures that allow the trafficking of material and information in and between cells (e.g. endocytosis, exocytosis, exosomes). We are also fascinated by the process of cell-to-cell fusion, which is necessary for innumerable developmental processes such as fertilization, and myogenesis. 

To gain previously inaccessible insight into the molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of membrane remodeling, we take a multimodal imaging approach combining several advanced imaging techniques including total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF-M), confocal microscopy and correlated light and electron microscopy (CLEM), which we apply to a variety of cell culture and in vivo model systems.