Francesca M. Marassi, PhD
Professor, Chair, and Eminent Scholar; Associate Director, MCW Cancer Center Shared Resources
Locations
- Biophysics
MFRC 2034
Contact Information
General Interests
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1993-1995
PhD, Physical Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1993
MSc, Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1989
BSc, Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1987
Biography
Research Interests
Description of Research
My lab is interested in understanding the molecular basis of disease. We focus on the structures and functions of protein-lipid assemblies relevant in host-pathogen interactions, degenerative diseases of aging, and cancer-related programmed cell death. We work with samples that are close representatives of the native environment to establish authentic structure-activity profiles that can advance therapy development.
View the MCW Project Wonder piece on my lab's research into age-related macular degeneration.
Lab Members
Swapna Bera, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Alyssa Kraft, Graduate Student
Rajlaxmi Panigrahi, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Karthika Samimuthu, Research Associate
Kyungsoo Shin, PhD, Assistant Professor
Gopinath Tata, PhD, Assistant Professor
Nicholas Wood, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Publications
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A pH-sensitive motif in an outer membrane protein activates bacterial membrane vesicle production.
(Dehinwal R, Gopinath T, Smith RD, Ernst RK, Schifferli DM, Waldor MK, Marassi FM.) Nat Commun. 2024 Aug 13;15(1):6958 PMID: 39138228 PMCID: PMC11322160 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85201246120 08/14/2024
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(Gopinath T, Shin K, Tian Y, Im W, Struppe J, Perrone B, Hassan A, Marassi FM.) J Struct Biol. 2024 Mar;216(1):108061 PMID: 38185342 PMCID: PMC10939839 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85182378487 01/08/2024
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(Kent JE, Ackermann BE, Debelouchina GT, Marassi FM.) Biochemistry. 2023 Aug 01;62(15):2252-2256 PMID: 37459255 PMCID: PMC11019665 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85166390720 07/17/2023
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(Kent JE, Ackermann BE, Debelouchina GT, Marassi FM.) bioRxiv. 2023 May 18 PMID: 37292594 PMCID: PMC10245764 06/09/2023
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Vitronectin, the major regulator of age-related macular degeneration.
(Shin K, Kent JE, Aleshin AE, Tian Y, Fujimoto LM, Singh C, Marassi FM.) Biophys J. 2023 Feb 10;122(3S1):467a PMID: 36784398 02/15/2023
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Calcium-induced environmental adaptability of the blood protein vitronectin.
(Tian Y, Shin K, Aleshin AE, Im W, Marassi FM.) Biophys J. 2022 Oct 18;121(20):3896-3906 PMID: 36056555 PMCID: PMC9674982 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85137693880 09/04/2022
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(Zhang L, Kent JE, Whitaker M, Young DC, Herrmann D, Aleshin AE, Ko YH, Cingolani G, Saad JS, Moody DB, Marassi FM, Ehrt S, Niederweis M.) Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 26;13(1):2255 PMID: 35474308 PMCID: PMC9042941 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85128924949 04/28/2022
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PLEKHA7 signaling is necessary for the growth of mutant KRAS driven colorectal cancer.
(Jeung HC, Puentes R, Aleshin A, Indarte M, Correa RG, Bankston LA, Layng FIAL, Ahmed Z, Wistuba I, Yao Y, Duenas DG, Zhang S, Meuillet EJ, Marassi F, Liddington RC, Kirkpatrick L, Powis G.) Exp Cell Res. 2021 Dec 15;409(2):112930 PMID: 34800542 PMCID: PMC8925131 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85119376654 11/21/2021
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Structural basis for the association of PLEKHA7 with membrane-embedded phosphatidylinositol lipids.
(Aleshin AE, Yao Y, Iftikhar A, Bobkov AA, Yu J, Cadwell G, Klein MG, Dong C, Bankston LA, Liddington RC, Im W, Powis G, Marassi FM.) Structure. 2021 Sep 02;29(9):1029-1039.e3 PMID: 33878292 PMCID: PMC8419008 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85107072903 04/21/2021
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Correlating the Structure and Activity of Y. pestis Ail in a Bacterial Cell Envelope.
(Kent JE, Fujimoto LM, Shin K, Singh C, Yao Y, Park SH, Opella SJ, Plano GV, Marassi FM.) Biophys J. 2021 Feb 02;120(3):453-462 PMID: 33359463 PMCID: PMC7895992 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85099124668 12/29/2020
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Conformational States of the Cytoprotective Protein Bcl-xL.
(Ryzhov P, Tian Y, Yao Y, Bobkov AA, Im W, Marassi FM.) Biophys J. 2020 Oct 06;119(7):1324-1334 PMID: 32888404 PMCID: PMC7567986 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85090205653 09/06/2020
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(Shin K, Kent JE, Singh C, Fujimoto LM, Yu J, Tian Y, Im W, Marassi FM.) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Aug 04;117(31):18504-18510 PMID: 32699145 PMCID: PMC7414086 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85089166480 07/24/2020