Judy Callis

Research Interests

My laboratory currently focuses on understanding the biological roles for the ubiquitin system. The ubiquitin system is a protein modification pathway, whereby the protein ubiquitin is covalently attached to other proteins. This alters the longevity, activity or localization of the ubiquitinated protein. We are interested in understanding the specificity and regulation of the ubiquitin pathway. We try to understand how proteins are recruited to the ubiquitinating enzymes, of which a major subset are called RING E3 ligases. There are are large number of RING E3 ligases enzymes whose functions are not known. We are taking a reverse genetics approach to understand the function of RING E3 ligases which interact with substrate proteins and catalyze ubiquitin transfer. We are also studying the degradation of transcription factors that function in communicating plant stress, with a focus on abiotic stress and nitrogen stress. We use a variety of techniques- biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics.

CBS Graduate Group Affiliations

• Integrative Genetics and Genomics Graduate Group
• Plant Biology Graduate Group