Professor Gerry Hammond focuses on the cell membrane's role in health and disease, particularly through the study of phosphoinositides, such as phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2). His research investigates how PIP2 facilitates membrane protein recruitment and signal transduction, contributing to various cellular functions. The lab aims to understand the mechanisms behind PIP2's regulatory roles, especially its failures in conditions like cancer and other diseases. He employs protein engineering to build new probes to sense and perturb the nanoscale dynamics of lipids within the plasma membrane.
"The cell biologist’s guide to detecting and modulating membrane phospholipids"
Worcester M, Ricci MMC, Weckerly CC, Calixto JG, Hammond GRV. J Cell Biol. 2026, 225, 2, e202508058.
'Subcellular Cartography of the Phosphoinositide Multiverse"
Ricci MMC, Weckerly CC, Hammond GRV. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2025, 1871, 2, 159706.
"PILS-Nir1 is a sensitive phosphatidic acid biosensor that reveals mechanisms of lipid production"
Weckerly CC, Rahn TA, Ehrlich M, Wills RC, Pemberton JG, Airola MV, Hammond GRV. J Cell Biol. 2025, 224, 11, e202405174
"MTMR regulates KRAS function by controlling plasma membrane levels of phospholipids"
Lange TE, Naji A, van der Hoeven R, Liang H, Zhou Y, Hammond GRV, Hancock JF, Cho KJ. J Cell Biol. 2025, 224, 7, e202403126
"Single-molecule lipid biosensors mitigate inhibition of endogenous effector proteins"
Holmes VL, Ricci MMC, Weckerly CC, Worcester M, Hammond GRV. J Cell Biol. 2025, 224, 3, e202412026