FORTH LAB

The Forth lab combines biophysical techniques, such as optical trapping and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, to decipher the mechanisms of force transmission within these networks. By reconstituting functionally active microtubule networks out of purified components and monitoring how the system behaves under biologically relevant mechanical constraints, we seek to both elucidate the underlying cellular physics and provide insights into diseases that arise when these structures fail... We are a biophysics lab located in the Department of Biological Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. We use a variety of different biophysical tools to understand how cells perform the complicated mechanical tasks to keep us healthy. For example, in the movie below, we are pulling apart two microtubules (red and purple) that are crosslinked by an essential protein called PRC1 (green) that is needed for cell division. We can measure the resistance this protein..

Primary location: Troy United States