Jonathon Ditlev

University of Toronto, Department of Biochemistry

Prior to joining the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and the University of Toronto, Dr. Ditlev earned his PhD at the University of Connecticut Health Center under the co-advisorship of Dr. Bruce Mayer and Dr. Les Loew. During his PhD, he studied cell signaling to the actin cytoskeleton through the adaptor protein Nck, nucleation promoting factor N-WASP, and the actin nucleator Arp2/3 complex using computational modeling coupled to cell biology and quantitative fluorescence microscopy. Dr. Ditlev was a Ruth L. Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow at UT Southwestern Medical Center under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Rosen. During his postdoctoral studies, Dr. Ditlev and his colleagues studied the role of liquid-liquid phase separation in organizing and regulating T cell signaling at immune synapses. Currently, Dr. Jonathon Ditlev is a Scientist in the Molecular Medicine Program at the Hospital for Sick Children and an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. The Ditlev Lab studies the role of liquid-liquid phase separation in cell signaling. Using a combination of in vitro biochemical reconstitution and cell biology, they seek to understand how the emergent biophysical properties and compositional control of phase-separated biomolecular condensates regulate signaling pathways at or near the membrane. They also study how membrane-associated condensates regulate their local lipid and cytosolic environments. Their overarching goal is to understand the fundamental mechanisms by which phase separation drives cell signaling. 

Shalini Low-Nam

Purdue University, Departments of Chemistry and Physics

Dr. Low-Nam received a PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of New Mexico under the joint mentorship of biophysicist, Dr. Diane Lidke, and cell biologist, Dr. Bridget Wilson. Her dissertation research used high spatiotemporal resolution single particle tracking of cell surface erbB receptors and image processing to extract dimerization kinetics across homo- and hetero-interactions. Dr. Low-Nam received an NIH Ruth Kirschstein postdoctoral fellowship to implement high resolution imaging of membranes and signal transduction in macrophages under the mentorship of Dr. Adam Hoppe (South Dakota State University). Dr. Low-Nam pursued additional postdoctoral training in the lab of Jay Groves at UC Berkeley. With colleagues, Dr. Low-Nam introduced a single molecule, single cell reconstitution assay to measure T cell activation mechanisms. This work generated new insights into the roles of space-time coordination in T cell decision-making. Curently, Dr. Low-Nam is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Physics at Purdue University. The Low-Nam Lab implements quantitative imaging and reconstitution strategies to understand mechanisms of signal processing of living cells within the complex tumor microenvironment. Many of these processes occur at cell-cell junctions, are bidirectional, and require complex integration of stochastic signals within the plasma membrane landscape. Roles of low copy number activities, macromolecular assembly, and 3D topography are mapped to cellular-level behaviors across time and length scales that span orders of magnitude. Their goal is to measure physiochemical and mechanical thresholds that guide complex cell and tissue-level outcomes.