Colson Laboratory

Laboratory of
Brett Colson, PhD

We study interactions and dynamics of proteins involved in muscle contraction, dysfunction in muscle disorders, and intervening therapies. We use biophysical approaches, including FRET, to assess mechanisms of myosin-binding protein C (MyBP-C) with its binding partners, actin and myosin.

The primary focus of our current research is to understand the relationship between the structural and biochemical transitions in cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying dysfunction in muscle disease. Specifically, how genetic mutations in myosin binding protein-C (MyBP-C) cause the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, leading to arrhythmias, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. Current research projects in my lab also include spectroscopic studies of actin and myosin structural dynamics related to other human physiology and disease phenomena, such as post-translational modifications in the fight-or-flight stress response (beta-adrenergic signaling) and roles of sex hormones in aging (muscle weakness and metabolism).

Lab Members