The promise for the treatment of proliferative disorders, with incalculable potential benefits to human health, has driven basic research into the genetic control of cell division for decades. However, what determines when cells initiate their division remains mysterious. It is as if we are staring at a beautiful engine, with little knowledge about what turns it on. How cells are set off to a new round of cell division, remains as one of the most fundamental, unanswered questions. It is virtually unknown which cellular pathways affect initiation of division, which factors operate within each pathway, the extent of interactions between pathways, and how each pathway is molecularly linked to the machinery of cell division. Our studies aim to answer these questions using baker's yeast. This model organism has a machinery of cell division that is very similar to that of human cells, and it is suited for genetic and biochemical studies.
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Tufts University - (Medford, Massachusetts, United States) 1994
- B.S. in , University of Patras - (Pátrai, Greece) 1988
Academic Articles45
- Bermudez-Cruz, M., Wu, P., Callerame, D., Hammer, S., Hu, J., & Polymenis, M. (2020). Phenotypic associations among cell cycle genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- Blank, H., Papoulas, O., Maitra, N., Garge, R., Kennedy, B., Schilling, B., Marcotte, E., & Polymenis, M. (2019). Abundances of transcripts, proteins, and metabolites in the cell cycle of budding yeast reveals coordinate control of lipid metabolism.
- Maitra, N., Anandhakumar, J., Blank, H. M., Kaplan, C. D., & Polymenis, M. (2019). Perturbations of Transcription and Gene Expression-Associated Processes Alter Distribution of Cell Size Values in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. G3 (Bethesda, Md.). 9(1), 239-250.
- Huang, J., Mousley, C. J., Dacquay, L., Maitra, N., Drin, G., He, C., ... Bankaitis, V. A. (2018). A Lipid Transfer Protein Signaling Axis Exerts Dual Control of Cell-Cycle and Membrane Trafficking Systems. Developmental Cell. 44(3), 378- .
- Maitra, N., Anandhakumar, J., Blank, H., Kaplan, C., & Polymenis, M. (2018). Perturbations of transcription and gene expression-associated processes alter distribution of cell size values in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Chapters1
- Polymenis, M., & Kennedy, B. K. (2017). Unbalanced growth, senescence and aging. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. (pp. 189-208).
Conference Papers1
- Wu, J., Polymenis, M., & Han, A. (2011). A low dilution rate microchemostat array with programmable cell population control. 1, 88-90.
Institutional Repository Documents1
- Polymenis, M., & Aramayo, R. (2015). Translate to divide: Ñontrol of the cell cycle by protein synthesis.
- BICH101 Perspectives In Bich And Gene Instructor
- BICH411 Comprehen Biochem Ii Instructor
- BICH491 Hnr-research Instructor
- BICH491 Research Instructor
- BICH685 Directed Studies Instructor
- Hoose, Scott Allen (2012-08). Systematic Analysis of Genetic and Pharmaceutical Modulators of the Eukaryotic Cell Cycle. (Doctoral Dissertation)
- Blank, Heidi M. (2009-12). Linking Sulfur Metabolism to the Cell Division Machinery in Yeast. (Doctoral Dissertation)
- Pathak, Ritu (2006-12). Regulation of initiation of division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: characterization of the role of DCR2, GID8, and KEM1 in completion of START. (Doctoral Dissertation)
- Han, Bong Kwan (2005-12). The G1 cyclin Cln3p regulates vacuole homeostasis through phosphorylation of a scaffold protein, Bem1p, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (Doctoral Dissertation)
- Guo, Jinbai (2003-05). Control of cell division by nutrients, and ER stress signaling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (Doctoral Dissertation)