Today was the 3rd Annual Schmitt Lab Professional Development Day! Here's what we did...🧵
Schmitt Lab @ UCLA
@schmittlab-ucla.bsky.social
We develop tools for imaging cellular spatiotemporal regulation of metabolism in the Department of Chem & Biochem @ UCLA
🎉 Congrats to Jack, a doctoral candidate in the lab, who received a Dissertation Year Award! This fellowship will support the last year of Jack's PhD. Congratulations! 🎉 www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/congrat...
Congratulations to this year’s Dissertation Year Award recipients – UCLA
chemistry.ucla.edu
Congrats to Katarina, who presented her work on developing Meteor at the recent Chemical Biology in the Greater Los Angeles Area Meeting and won a poster prize!
Schmitt Lab @ UCLA@schmittlab-ucla.bsky.social · 2mo ago☄️New biosensor!☄️ We present Meteor, our GFP-based methionine optical reporter, which can be used to measure methionine dynamics across scales, from subcellular to organisms like C elegans! Plasmids will be deposited with Addgene. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Congrats to Michael, the newest PhD Candidate in the Schmitt Lab!! 🎉🥳
☄️New biosensor!☄️ We present Meteor, our GFP-based methionine optical reporter, which can be used to measure methionine dynamics across scales, from subcellular to organisms like C elegans! Plasmids will be deposited with Addgene. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Revealing the spatiotemporal dynamics of methionine metabolism with a genetically encoded single-fluorophore biosensor
Methionine is an essential amino acid, used for protein synthesis, redox homeostasis, and methylation reactions throughout the cell. However, the compartmentalized dynamics of methionine have remained...
biorxiv.org
Today I received a departmental award for excellence in inclusion & mentoring! It really means a lot to me to receive this award, and that all my efforts to be an effective mentor to my trainees, at UCLA, and beyond are recognized. Thank you so much to my lab members who nominated me for this award.
📚New review! Led by our amazing post-bac Arnav, we have put together a history of AMPK biosensors & highlighted some cool use cases! We hope this review will help broaden the adoption of biosensors in the field & increase our understanding of dynamic AMPK activity. portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...
Illuminating compartmentalized AMPK signaling in single cells
Abstract. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a crucial regulator of cellular energy balance, affecting numerous downstream targets across various subcellular locations. Under cellular energy stres...
portlandpress.com
🍾 Congrats to @charlotteek.bsky.social the 7th graduate student to advance to candidacy in the Schmitt Lab! Charlotte passed with flying colors!
✨New Review✨ Coordinated by Mia Sung, we contributed to a new review about non-invasive imaging of single cell dynamics! Written by leaders in the field, this comprehensive review discusses how we can measure single cell dynamics, with a section on metabolite biosensors. www.cell.com/trends/cell-...
Noninvasive methods to monitor dynamic single-cell events
Adaptations to changing environments manifest in various cellular activities across multiple timescales, where single-cell responses can occur asynchronously between individual cells. Hence, accurate ...
cell.com
The Schmitt Lab is at ASBMB! Check out our posters over the next few days!
Schmitt Lab @ UCLA@schmittlab-ucla.bsky.social · 5mo agoThe Schmitt Lab will be at ASBMB 2026! Check out our posters and learn about what the Schmitt Lab has been up to!
The Schmitt Lab will be at ASBMB 2026! Check out our posters and learn about what the Schmitt Lab has been up to!
🎇PINK1-SPARK: A phase separation-based biosensor for PINK1 activity! Find the plasmids here: www.addgene.org/browse/artic...
Addgene: Visualizing PINK1 Activity Dynamics in Single Cells with a Phase Separation-Based Kinase Activity Reporter.
addgene.org
Schmitt Lab @ UCLA@schmittlab-ucla.bsky.social · 6mo agoToday our paper reporting on our new PINK1 biosensor is out! We are very excited about the future use of this tool to study PINK1 biology. Plasmids are available on Addgene & we are preparing a protocol paper. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Today our paper reporting on our new PINK1 biosensor is out! We are very excited about the future use of this tool to study PINK1 biology. Plasmids are available on Addgene & we are preparing a protocol paper. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Visualizing PINK1 Activity Dynamics in Single Cells with a Phase Separation-Based Kinase Activity Reporter
Phosphatase and tensin homologue-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays roles in mitophagy, cell death, and regulation of cellular bioenergetics. Current approaches for study...
pubs.acs.org
🌟New from the Schmitt Lab!🌟 We have developed a new cpEGFP-based biosensor for glutamine, iGlo. We use iGlo to measure gln uptake and the dynamics of gln production & use in cytoplasm & mito matrix. We also show the temporal crosstalk between gln & glucose metabolism. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Illuminating spatial dynamics of glutamine metabolism with a sensitive genetically encoded biosensor
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in serum, used as a key nutrient by cells for protein synthesis, energy production, carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and cellular redox balance. The use of glutamine in the cell is highly compartmentalized, but the dynamics of glutamine metabolism across organelles and individual cells are not fully understood. To illuminate subcellular glutamine dynamics, we developed an intracellular glutamine optical reporter, iGlo. We find iGlo is sensitive and specific for glutamine and can be used to measure glutamine uptake, production, and consumption with high spatiotemporal resolution in multiple cell types. Furthermore, multiplexed imaging of iGlo with a lactate biosensor in single cells reveals temporal crosstalk between glucose and glutamine metabolism to maintain energy homeostasis. Thus, iGlo enables the sensitive and precise study of compartmentalized glutamine dynamics and represents a new and enhanced tool for studying the spatiotemporal dynamics and regulation of metabolism. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. National Institutes of Health, https://ror.org/01cwqze88, T32GM145388, P30CA016042, R35GM138003, DP2GM154012 United States Department of Energy, https://ror.org/01bj3aw27, DE-FC02-02ER63421 UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, https://ror.org/0599cs764, Strategic Plan Aligned Grant, Graduate Research Award Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (United States), https://ror.org/02qenvm24, MET-000000000151
biorxiv.org
Made it to Pacifichem and checked out posters with @jasonzxzhang.bsky.social! My talk on the Schmitt Lab’s recent biosensor work is on Wednesday!
The Schmitt Lab will be at Pacifichem! Danielle is giving a talk on Wednesday, Dec 17 at 2:50 pm on our work developing amino acid biosensors in the afternoon session of “Genetically-Encoded and Chemigenetic Tools for Analysis and Control of Biological Systems” in the Honolulu Convention Center.
Tonight was the Annual Schmitt Lab Holiday Party! This year Kinase Subgroup cleaned up at charades. We are also big fans of the ThermoFisher Holiday Sweater.
Plasmids for PINK1-SPARK are now available on Addgene! Find them here: www.addgene.org/browse/artic...
Addgene: Visualizing PINK1 Activity Dynamics in Single Cells with a Phase Separation-Based Kinase Activity Reporter
addgene.org
Schmitt Lab @ UCLA@schmittlab-ucla.bsky.social · 10mo ago🎀 New from the lab 🎀 We used the SPARK design for kinase biosensors to develop a PINK1 biosensor, PINK1-SPARK. We used PINK1-SPARK to measure PINK1 activity in multiple cell types & when using HaloTag, for multiplexing! Plasmids coming soon, check out the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🔬New Preprint Alert 🔬 How is AMPK regulated by oxidative stress? We use functional imaging to uncover spatial regulation of AMPK activity during oxidative stress by LKB1 & CaMKK2. Combining imaging with proteomics & metabolomics, we find AMPK works to promote the cellular redox response.
bioRxiv Biochemistry@biorxiv-biochem.bsky.social · 9mo agoSpatial regulation of AMPK activity under oxidative stress requires LKB1 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.17.688926v1
🎀 New from the lab 🎀 We used the SPARK design for kinase biosensors to develop a PINK1 biosensor, PINK1-SPARK. We used PINK1-SPARK to measure PINK1 activity in multiple cell types & when using HaloTag, for multiplexing! Plasmids coming soon, check out the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Visualizing PINK1 Activity Dynamics in Single Cells with a Phase Separation-Based Kinase Activity Reporter
Phosphatase and tensin homologue-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays roles in mitophagy, cell death, and regulation of cellular bioenergetics. Current approaches for study...
biorxiv.org
“It backfired,” said one senior administrator at UCLA, reflecting the sense of whiplash felt among many who were interviewed. “Within hours of announcing our settlement, the DOJ was on our back.” www.latimes.com/california/s...
Ivy League universities paid hundreds of millions to settle with Trump. Is UCLA next?
President Trump's higher education battle comes to the University of California. After the Department of Justice found that UCLA had violated Jewish students' civil rights, the administration froze hu...
latimes.com
Science is foundational to the San Diego region. Cuts in federal funding will harm STEM training and education and threaten this foundation. Call your congress people and demand NO CUTS to science funding!
Opinion: Cuts in federal funding hammer STEM students and San Diego region
This year’s federal funding cuts are severely impacting STEM research and education, threatening the future of innovation and our nation’s health and technological advancement. These cuts hav…
sandiegouniontribune.com
A story from LAist (local LA public radio) about the freezing of funds. I have had my grant frozen, so has nearly everyone else i know. laist.com/news/climate...
UCLA tells researchers to 'immediately stop spending' after Trump administration freezes grant funds
The Trump administration cited alleged antisemitism at UCLA as a reason for suspending the funding. Years worth of research could be lost, one UCLA researcher said.
laist.com
Today the Schmitt Lab had our 2nd Annual Professional Development Day! To start the day, we reviewed the State of the Lab, and discussed plans for current and future funding and publications. Next, we reviewed statistics and what the null hypothesis is.
🎉Congrats Katarina, who passed her advancement to candidacy today! 🥳
🥳 Congrats Alexia, who has advanced to candidacy! Alexia did a wonderful job! 🍾
Today at the @uclacb.bsky.social several members of the Schmitt Lab received awards for excellence in research and teaching. 🎉 Congrats, everyone! 🥳
🎉 Congrats Teagan, who advanced to candidacy today! Teagan is co-mentored by Danielle & @tarateslaa.bsky.social. Teagan did a great job! 🥳
