Marija Zanic, Ph.D.

Professor

marija.zanic@vanderbilt.edu

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Faculty Appointments
Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular EngineeringProfessor of Biochemistry
Education
Ph.D., Physics, University of Texas, Austin, TexasM.S., Physics, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
Office Address
465 21st Avenue South
4120 MRBIII
Nashville, TN 37240
Research Keywords
molecular cell biology, physical biology, biophysics, cytoskeleton, microtubules, microtubule dynamics
Publications
Reid TA, Coombes C, Mukherjee S, Goldblum RR, White K, Parmar S, McClellan M, Zanic M, Courtemanche N, Gardner MK. Structural state recognition facilitates tip tracking of EB1 at growing microtubule ends. Elife. 2019 Sep 9/3/2019; 8: PMID: 31478831, PII: 48117, DOI: 10.7554/eLife.48117, ISSN: 2050-084X.

Strothman C, Farmer V, Arpag G, Rodgers N, Podolski M, Norris S, Ohi R, Zanic M. Microtubule minus-end stability is dictated by the tubulin off-rate. J. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2019 Sep 9/2/2019; 218(9): 2841-53. PMID: 31420452, PII: jcb.201905019, DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201905019, ISSN: 1540-8140.

Alper J, Zanic M. Resistance is futile: Centering forces yield for asymmetric cell division. J. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2019 Mar 3/4/2019; 218(3): 727-8. PMID: 30770435, PMCID: PMC6400559, PII: jcb.201902039, DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201902039, ISSN: 1540-8140.

Lawrence EJ, Zanic M. Rescuing microtubules from the brink of catastrophe: CLASPs lead the way. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2019 Feb; 56: 94-101. PMID: 30453184, PMCID: PMC6370552, PII: S0955-0674(18)30034-6, DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2018.10.011, ISSN: 1879-0410.

Norris SR, Jung S, Singh P, Strothman CE, Erwin AL, Ohi MD, Zanic M, Ohi R. Microtubule minus-end aster organization is driven by processive HSET-tubulin clusters. Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 7/9/2018; 9(1): 2659. PMID: 29985404, PMCID: PMC6037785, PII: 10.1038/s41467-018-04991-2, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04991-2, ISSN: 2041-1723.

Lawrence EJ, Arpag G, Norris SR, Zanic M. Human CLASP2 specifically regulates microtubule catastrophe and rescue. Mol. Biol. Cell [print-electronic]. 2018 May 5/15/2018; 29(10): 1168-77. PMID: 29540526, PMCID: PMC5935067, PII: mbc.E18-01-0016, DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E18-01-0016, ISSN: 1939-4586.

Snider CE, Willet AH, Chen JS, Arpag G, Zanic M, Gould KL. Phosphoinositide-mediated ring anchoring resists perpendicular forces to promote medial cytokinesis. J. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2017 Oct 10/2/2017; 216(10): 3041-50. PMID: 28784611, PMCID: PMC5626552, PII: jcb.201705070, DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201705070, ISSN: 1540-8140.

Zanic M. Measuring the Effects of Microtubule-Associated Proteins on Microtubule Dynamics In Vitro. Methods Mol. Biol. 2016; 1413: 47-61. PMID: 27193842, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3542-0_4, ISSN: 1940-6029.

Ohi R, Zanic M. Ahead of the Curve: New Insights into Microtubule Dynamics. F1000Res. 2016; 5: PMID: 26998244, PMCID: PMC4786905, DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.7439.1.

Grimaldi AD, Zanic M, Kaverina I. Encoding the microtubule structure: Allosteric interactions between the microtubule +TIP complex master regulators and TOG-domain proteins. Cell Cycle. 2015; 14(9): 1375-8. PMID: 25895033, PMCID: PMC4614873, DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2015.1026521, ISSN: 1551-4005.

Zanic M, Widlund PO, Hyman AA, Howard J. Synergy between XMAP215 and EB1 increases microtubule growth rates to physiological levels. Nat. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2013 Jun; 15(6): 688-93. PMID: 23666085, PII: ncb2744, DOI: 10.1038/ncb2744, ISSN: 1476-4679.

Bowne-Anderson H, Zanic M, Kauer M, Howard J. Microtubule dynamic instability: a new model with coupled GTP hydrolysis and multistep catastrophe. Bioessays [print-electronic]. 2013 May; 35(5): 452-61. PMID: 23532586, PMCID: PMC3677417, DOI: 10.1002/bies.201200131, ISSN: 1521-1878.

Gardner MK, Zanic M, Howard J. Microtubule catastrophe and rescue. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2013 Feb; 25(1): 14-22. PMID: 23092753, PMCID: PMC3556214, PII: S0955-0674(12)00145-7, DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2012.09.006, ISSN: 1879-0410.

Tropini C, Roth EA, Zanic M, Gardner MK, Howard J. Islands containing slowly hydrolyzable GTP analogs promote microtubule rescues. PLoS ONE [print-electronic]. 2012; 7(1): e30103. PMID: 22272281, PMCID: PMC3260198, PII: PONE-D-11-21334, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030103, ISSN: 1932-6203.

Gardner MK, Zanic M, Gell C, Bormuth V, Howard J. Depolymerizing kinesins Kip3 and MCAK shape cellular microtubule architecture by differential control of catastrophe. Cell. 2011 Nov 11/23/2011; 147(5): 1092-103. PMID: 22118464, PII: S0092-8674(11)01287-6, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.10.037, ISSN: 1097-4172.

Widlund PO, Stear JH, Pozniakovsky A, Zanic M, Reber S, Brouhard GJ, Hyman AA, Howard J. XMAP215 polymerase activity is built by combining multiple tubulin-binding TOG domains and a basic lattice-binding region. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A [print-electronic]. 2011 Feb 2/15/2011; 108(7): 2741-6. PMID: 21282620, PMCID: PMC3041093, PII: 1016498108, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1016498108, ISSN: 1091-6490.

Gell C, Bormuth V, Brouhard GJ, Cohen DN, Diez S, Friel CT, Helenius J, Nitzsche B, Petzold H, Ribbe J, Schäffer E, Stear JH, Trushko A, Varga V, Widlund PO, Zanic M, Howard J. Microtubule dynamics reconstituted in vitro and imaged by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. Methods Cell Biol. 2010; 95: 221-45. PMID: 20466138, PII: S0091-679X(10)95013-9, DOI: 10.1016/S0091-679X(10)95013-9, ISSN: 0091-679X.

Zanic M, Stear JH, Hyman AA, Howard J. EB1 recognizes the nucleotide state of tubulin in the microtubule lattice. PLoS ONE. 2009; 4(10): e7585. PMID: 19851462, PMCID: PMC2761489, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007585, ISSN: 1932-6203.

Lee YC, Block G, Chen H, Folch-Puy E, Foronjy R, Jalili R, Jendresen CB, Kimura M, Kraft E, Lindemose S, Lu J, McLain T, Nutt L, Ramon-Garcia S, Smith J, Spivak A, Wang ML, Zanic M, Lin SH. One-step isolation of plasma membrane proteins using magnetic beads with immobilized concanavalin A. Protein Expr. Purif [print-electronic]. 2008 Dec; 62(2): 223-9. PMID: 18765283, PMCID: PMC2600885, PII: S1046-5928(08)00215-5, DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2008.08.003, ISSN: 1096-0279.

Available Postdoctoral Position Details
Posted: 12/5/2014
The Zanic Lab has current openings for outstanding postdoctoral researchers interested in cytoskeletal dynamics and organization. Our lab seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying microtubule dynamic instability and its regulation. Our approaches combine biochemical in vitro reconstitution with purified protein components, single molecule TIRF microscopy, quantitative image analysis and theoretical modeling. We are looking for motivated, enthusiastic and talented researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds. Experience with any of the following is beneficial: protein expression and purification, microfluidics, image analysis/Matlab. To apply, please contact Marija Zanic at marija.zanic@vanderbilt.edu