I’m Gant. My lab studies how the structure of cells affects disease progression. Allen Distinguished Investigator in Molecular and Celular Biology at @UCDavis. https://luxton.faculty.ucdavis.eduhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3mfanoeob4c2bNew in @quantamagazine.bsky.social: the science of cytoplasmic crowding. From Liam Holt & Simone Reber's work to our discovery that in vivo cytoplasm is 50x more crowded than cultured cells. Thanks @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social & @gabepopkin.bsky.social! https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biophysical-world-inside-a-jam-packed-cell-20260218/19 Feb 2026 22:34 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfanoeob4c2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3mdjgv6oje22xThe call for session proposals for Cell Bio 2026 is open. ASCB gives priority to organizers who haven't run a session in the last two years, and they encourage trainees to submit with an experienced co-chair. Deadline: Feb 22. @ascbiology.bsky.social https://www.ascb.org/cellbio2026/session-proposals/28 Jan 2026 23:36 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdjgv6oje22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3m77bojm2tc2sGrateful to be featured in Nature Methods discussing how @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social and I run the joint Starr-Luxton Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social together. Thanks to Vivien Marx for the thoughtful interview - she really captured what makes this model work. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-025-02938-205 Dec 2025 00:56 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3m77bojm2tc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lzjkcy4vlc2n🧬 NEW Starr-Luxton Lab PREPRINT: Our 🌠grad student @XiangyiDing figured out why muscular dystrophy mutations cause such widespread cellular chaos. The answer wasn't what we expected - and it changes how we think about the disease. Thread🧵 (1/6). https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.22.677926v123 Sep 2025 18:26 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzjkcy4vlc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lyixbaprrc2c🧬Want the full story of our paper without the science jargon? Our @ucdavis.bsky.social department broke down our "cells are crowded AND constrained" findings in plain English! Perfect explanation of why worm cells are nothing like cultured cells 🪱🌠10 Sep 2025 19:19 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyixbaprrc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lyix6dvzk22c🧬BREAKING!🪱Plot twist: Cells aren't meditation pools, they're overcrowded concerts with VIP ropes everywhere! Our study reveals worm cells are insanely crowded AND compartmentalized. Ribosomes = packing peanuts, ANC-1 = the bouncer! https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adx095210 Sep 2025 19:18 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyix6dvzk22chttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lygpn3gyk22j🚨Our fabulous graduate student Selin's paper on how the KASH protein UNC-83 regulates the activity of kinesin-1 to control developmental stage-specific nuclear migration is out! Another great collaboration between the Starr-Luxton and MOM labs. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098222501091709 Sep 2025 21:58 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lygpn3gyk22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lstl3i2ni22qCongratulations to Dr. Gümüşderelioğlum from the Starr-Luxton Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social! 🎓 Fresh off her recent PhD defense, she gave an excellent talk this morning at the Cell Biology session of #Worm2025 on UNC-83 molecular switches in nuclear migration. So proud! 👏 #NewPhD #CellBiology30 Jun 2025 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lstl3i2ni22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lssjlpqgss2rIncredible plenary presentation by Starr-Luxton Lab student @xiangyiding.bsky.social at the International Worm Meeting! Who knew C. elegans cytoplasm has the viscosity of strawberry jam? 🍓 So proud! #Worm2025 #frontierscience @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social30 Jun 2025 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lssjlpqgss2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lsided2uwk2bAmazing to see our student @xiangyiding.bsky.social featured in Nature Methods discussing how the Marine Biological Laboratory Physiology course transformed her approach to research! So proud of her experience and growth. #Frontierscience 🪱💎 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-025-02739-726 Jun 2025 04:52 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsided2uwk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lpgdyrpod22chttps://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.14.654032v118 May 2025 05:43 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpgdyrpod22chttps://bsky.app/profile/gwgl.bsky.social/post/3lor43w4i7c25🧵 1/8: Excited to share our new paper on how heterochromatin (tightly packed DNA) helps cell nuclei migrate through tight spaces in #Celegans! Published in @genetics_asa #CellBiology #NuclearMigration pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40335054/ Congrats @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social and 1st author Ellen! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40335054/09 May 2025 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:4vbb75hwvsovcbj6zm6p7y2k/app.bsky.feed.post/3lor43w4i7c25