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 Articles51
- Maitra, N., Hammer, S., Kjerfve, C., Bankaitis, V., & Polymenis, M. (2021). Translational control of lipogenesis links protein synthesis and phosphoinositide signaling with nuclear division.
- Blank, H., Alonso, A., Winey, M., & Polymenis, M. (2020). Translational control of MPS1 links protein synthesis with the initiation of cell division and spindle pole body duplication in yeast.
- Zou, K. e., Rouskin, S., Dervishi, K., McCormick, M. A., Sasikumar, A., Deng, C., ... Li, H. (2020). Life span extension by glucose restriction is abrogated by methionine supplementation: Cross-talk between glucose and methionine and implication of methionine as a key regulator of life span. SCIENCE ADVANCES. 6(32), eaba1306-eaba1306.
- Polymenis, M. (2020). Ribosomal proteins: mutant phenotypes by the numbers and associated gene expression changes. OPEN BIOLOGY. 10(8), 200114-200114.
- Bermudez, R. M., Wu, P., Callerame, D., Hammer, S., Hu, J. C., & Polymenis, M. (2020). Phenotypic Associations Among Cell Cycle Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. G3 (Bethesda, Md.). 10(7), g3.401350.2020-2351.
Chapters1
- Polymenis, M., & Kennedy, B. K. (2017). Unbalanced Growth, Senescence and Aging. MATHEMATICAL MODELLING IN EXPERIMENTAL NUTRITION. Cell Division Machinery and Disease. (pp. 189-208). Springer International Publishing.
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: сontrol of the cell cycle by protein synthesis.. Microbial Cell.
Principal Investigator2
- 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)