The Banani Lab broadly investigates the disruption of cellular structure and physiology in various diseases to understand normal cellular functions and to enable new therapeutic strategies. We specialize in studying biomolecular condensation—a fundamental process cells use to organizing biochemical reactions into compartments through phase separation. These compartments, known as condensates, are disrupted in numerous diseases, ranging from cancers to rare genetic disorders. We leverage approaches from cell biology, genetics, biophysics, and pathology to glean fundamental principles of how condensates function by studying how they are disrupted in disease.
News
Happy Holidays from the Banani Lab!
The lab took took a break from the bench to celebrate the holiday season together! We kicked things off with lunch on campus at Plein Air Cafe; it was a wonderful opportunity to unwind, reflect on our collective achievements from this year, and share good food. We...
Supporting Heart Health
Our lab recently participated in the American Heart Association's annual Heart Walk to get hearts pumping, honor survivors, and raise lifesaving funds; University of Chicago Medicine raised over $100,000! The event gave us the opportunity to support cardiovascular...
Lab Coats to Taproom Chats
As we prepare to start our first experiments, we took some time to connect as a team outside the lab. We visited Woodlawn Tap, one of the University of Chicago’s fabled neighborhood bars. This gathering was a useful step in building a cohesive team dynamic as we move...