How do cells organize their internal structures to enable tissues to grow, function, and regenerate? And how are these processes altered in disease? The Lu lab is interested in the spatiotemporal dynamics of subcellular components that drive cellular remodeling across health and disease.

We use cell–cell fusion as a powerful model system—primarily in skeletal muscle—to understand how metabolism, organelles, and the actin cytoskeleton coordinate in space and time to produce dramatic structural changes in cells. By gaining insight into these processes, we hope to uncover fundamental mechanisms of cellular remodeling and translate this knowledge into new therapeutic opportunities for human disease.