Dr. Corbin Jensen
Research Profile
Research Areas:
- Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
- Cell-Cell Adhesion
- Developmental Biology
- Microscopy
- Image Analysis
Techniques:
- Molecular biology/cloning
- Drosophila husbandry
- Bright-field microscopy
- Fluorescent microscopy
- Image analysis
- Machine Learning and AI for biological applications
Project Description:
The ability of a cell to maintain proper adhesion to neighboring cells and its environment is an integral part of biology. Cell-Cell adhesion and Cell-Environment adhesion is important in embryogenesis and wound healing, and the deregulation can lead to invasion and metastasis in diseases like cancer. Model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) provide a powerful tool to study how cells maintain proper adhesion under wildtype (normal) conditions and what proteins are involved in this process. My work uses genetic and cloning techniques to alter adhesion proteins and express them in flies so we can study the effects of those mutated proteins. I use classic developmental biology assays to get functional answers, and incorporate computational, machine learning, and AI tools to get a fuller picture of this biology. Students who work with me will establish new and novel mutant lines, test the functional and morphological ramifications of these mutations using wet-bench techniques, various types of microscopy, and powerful computational analysis.
Get to know Dr. Jensen:
What is your research area and why are you passionate about it?
My research focuses on how cells maintain contact with neighboring cells and their environment. Specifically I look at a complex known as the Adherens Junction (AJ) which is vital to maintain proper cell-cell adhesion with my protein of interest being the Canoe/Afadin protein. Canoe/Afadin has a large intrinsically disordered region which challenges long-held dogma that structure equals function, so it is at the forefront of new scientific discoveries, while also being relevant to both the creation of life during embryogenesis as well as the deterioration of life through diseases such as cancer.
What do you like most about research?
This project stands at the intersection of so many different scientific disciplines such as genetics, developmental biology, cancer biology, cell and molecular interactions, protein dynamics and interactions, cutting-edge microscopy, image analysis and computer modeling, and more. I get to try new things and new techniques to solve a scientific puzzle that nobody else has before. It’s exciting to be exploring uncharted territory and moving science forward in the process. Sometimes the seemingly smallest of discoveries have led to life-altering discoveries in technology and human health and medicine and that is very rewarding to know my work doesn’t exist in a vacuum and could one day make a real impact.
How would you describe your mentoring style?
My mentorship style skews slightly towards being a little hands-off but with ample availability and an open-door policy. I will work extensively with you in the beginning to teach you the skills you need to hopefully be able to ride the bike without any training wheels later on, but I will always be present should you feel like you need a little bit of help with your balance. I think ownership and agency are important things to establish early on and I want to make sure you succeed on your own in your future endeavours; and to me that is more important than getting a particular experiment or assay correct.
What is one piece of advice that you would give to students beginning research?
Don’t worry about the project or research topic so much. When you start in research you are learning techniques and how to begin thinking like a scientist and what it means to do day-to-day science. Those lessons are universal, the topic or project is niche. Focus less on what the experiment is and more on why we chose that experiment and what that experiment tells us. Those concepts are transferable across fields and across projects and will build a strong foundation for future research and future success in research.