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Phil McFadden
Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics
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RESEARCH:
Chromatophores are the naturally colored living cells that givefish and other cold-blooded vertebrates their varied and changeable coloration. The biological question being addressed in my lab is how the nervous system regulates color changes within chromatophores. The fundamental principles of neuron-chromatophore coupling are similar to those of many other cell-cell communication pathways in the nervous system, but with chromatophores one is able to watch the cell response in real-time and in living color. One of our essential tools is the light microscope, aimed to measure the effects of neuroactive chemicals on isolated fish chromatophores. Time-varying stimulations are used to test the dynamics of chromatophores, their internal mechanical activities, and their memories of past stimulation. The mechanism of color change is closely similar to the mechanisms of organelle transport in all kinds of animal cells, so our research is bridging concepts of cellular control theory to the enzymatic systems that regulate subcellular movement.