- About
- People
- Faculty
- Tim Audas
- Christopher Beh
- Lorena Braid
- Fiona S.L. Brinkman
- Mark Brockman
- Jack Chen
- Jonathan Choy
- Lisa Craig
- Sharon Gorski
- Nicholas Harden
- Nancy Hawkins
- Robert Holt
- William Hsiao
- Valentin Jaumouillé
- Dustin King
- Irina Kovalyova
- Mani Larijani
- Amy Lee
- Michel Leroux
- Ryan Morin
- Ingrid Northwood
- Mark Paetzel
- Frederic Pio
- Lynne Quarmby
- Sophie Sneddon
- Jenifer Thewalt
- Glen Tibbits
- Peter Unrau
- Esther Verheyen
- Stephanie Vlachos
- David Vocadlo
- Edgar Young
- Emeritus Faculty
- Associate Members
- Adjunct Faculty
- Research Personnel
- Graduate & Postdocs
- Staff
- Department Committees
- Faculty
- Undergraduate
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Advising
- Courses
- Course Offerings
- Summer (1234)
- Spring (1231)
- Fall (1227)
- Summer (1224)
- Spring (1221)
- Fall (1217)
- Summer (1214)
- Spring (1211)
- Fall (1207)
- Summer (1204)
- Spring (1201)
- Fall (1197)
- Summer (1194)
- Spring (1191)
- Fall (1187)
- Summer (1184)
- Spring (1181)
- Fall (1177)
- Summer (1174)
- Spring (1171)
- Fall (1167)
- Summer (1164)
- Spring (1161)
- Fall (1157)
- Summer (1154)
- Spring (1151)
- Course Descriptions
- Course Offerings
- Degree Programs
- MBB Co-op Program
- Research Opportunities
- Scholarship & Funding
- Student Resources
- Graduate
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Manage Your Program
- Courses
- Course Descriptions
- Course Offerings
- Spring (1231)
- Summer (1234)
- Spring (1221)
- Summer (1224)
- Fall (1227)
- Fall (1217)
- Summer (1214)
- Spring (1211)
- Fall (1207)
- Summer (1204)
- Spring (1201)
- Fall (1197)
- Summer (1194)
- Spring (1191)
- Fall (1187)
- Summer (1184)
- Spring (1181)
- Fall (1177)
- Summer (1174)
- Spring (1171)
- Fall (1167)
- Summer (1164)
- Spring (1161)
- Fall (1157)
- Summer (1154)
- Spring (1151)
- Forms And Resources
- Events
- Graduate Student Caucus
- Research
- Research Labs
- Audas Lab
- Beh Lab
- Braid lab
- Brinkman Lab
- Brockman Lab
- Chen Lab
- Choy Lab
- Craig lab
- Gorski Lab
- Harden Lab
- Hawkins Lab
- Holt Lab
- Hsiao lab
- Jaumouillé lab
- King Lab
- Larijani Lab
- Lee Lab
- Leroux Lab
- Morin Lab
- Paetzel Lab
- Pio Lab
- Quarmby Lab
- Sen Lab
- Thewalt Lab
- Tibbits Lab
- Unrau Lab
- Verheyen Lab
- Vocadlo Lab
- Young lab
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities
- C2D2 Centre for Cell Biology, Development, and Disease
- Omics Data Science Initiative
- Research Labs
- Resources
- News & Events
- MBB Calendar
- Colloquia
- Honours & Awards
- News Archives
- 2023
- Congratulations to Dustin King, Amy Lee and David Vocadlo: recipients of New Frontiers in Research Fund
- SFU research aids fight against treatment-resistant superbugs
- Leroux lab Nature Communications paper identifies novel human disease gene linked to retinal degeneration, one of a growing number of genes associated with ciliary dysfunction (ciliopathies)
- Graduate student Minh Nguyen and his colleagues in the Craig lab reveal the mechanism of Type IV-pilus mediated bacterial secretion
- Global News BC: Dr. Fiona Brinkman Discusses How Scientists Track Mutations in the New Covid-19 Variants
- 2022
- Congratulations to Dr. Tim Audas on The Renewal of Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cellular Stress
- $2 Million Gift From SFU Professors Emeriti Helps Seed New Ideas at SFU Science
- Learn more about Dr. King's new lab that focuses on natural ‘carbon capture’ solutions
- Congratulations to Dr. Amy Lee: The Recipient of The Banting Research Foundation's 2022 Discovery Award
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, The Recipient of Governor General’s Gold Medal
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Cory Macklin Who Overcame Challenges to Win Governor General's Silver Medal
- Congratulations to Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, the recipient of Dr. Bruce Brandhorst Prizes for Best Publication and Best PhD Thesis
- Meet Our Newest Faculty: Dr. Dustin King on His Exploration of Weaving Western Science with Indigenous Ways of Knowing
- Congratulations to our June 2022 Graduands
- Dr. Lynne Quarmby and Her Book "WaterMelon Snow: Science, Art, and a Lone Polar Bear" is Featured in SFU Knowledge Mobilizers Series
- Congratulations to our May 2022 Graduands
- Congratulations to Dr. Mani Larijani for Being Awarded a Prestigious New Frontiers in Research Fund Grant
- A New Paper from Beh Lab on ER-PM membrane contact site regulation by yeast ORPs and membrane stress pathways has been published in Plos Genetics Journal
- Dr. Lorena Braid is featured among new and renewed Canada Research Chairs
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2023
- Support
- Faculty + Staff Portal
Thewalt Lab
We study the organization and behavior of lipid molecules in membranes using powerful physical techniques like deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance and x-ray scattering.
Cell membranes are complex assemblies of lipids and proteins held together by lipids' natural tendency to form bilayer structures. Nearly all biological membranes exist in a liquid crystalline 'bilayer' physical state, where membrane components can diffuse within their monolayer but cannot spontaneously hop to the other side of the membrane.
Since lipids are amphiphilic and water - the biological solvent - is polar, lipids tend to spontaneously self assemble into supramolecular aggregates. The hydrophilic lipid heads like to position themselves in such a way that they are hydrated by the water while keeping the hydrophobic ends tucked away.
The knowledge gained from the work we do aids cell biologists investigating phenomena related to membrane domains, e.g. programmed cell death, protein localization/signaling, neuronal maturation and bacterial/viral infection.
For more details, visit our research lab website.
Email:
JENIFER THEWALT
jthewalt@sfu.ca
Lab Room:
SSB 6166/6128
Lab Phone:
(778) 782-5489
(778) 782-4955
Selected Publications
- Keyvanloo A, Shaghaghi M, Zuckermann MJ, and Thewalt JL. The Phase Behavior and Organization of Sphingomyelin/Cholesterol Membranes: A Deuterium NMR Study. Biophys J. 2018 May 27. 114(6): 1344-1356.
- Thewalt JL. Essential Insights into Lipid Membrane Organization from Essential Fatty Acids. Biophys J. 2018 Jan 23. 114(2): 254-255.
- Leung, S.S.W., Brewer, J., Bagatolli, L. and Thewalt, J.L. (2019) "Measuring molecular order for lipid membrane phase studies: Linear relationship between Laurdan generalized polarization and deuterium NMR order parameter".Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Biomembranes 1861:183053.
- Ghovanloo, M. R., Choudhoury, K., Bandaru, T.S., Fouda, M.A., Rayani, K., Rusinova, R., Phaterpekar, T., Nelkenbrecher, K., Watkins, A.R., Poburko, D., Thewalt, J., Andersen, O.S., Delemotte, L., Goodchild, S.J., Ruben, P.C. Cannabidiol inhibits the skeletal muscle Nav1.4 by blocking its pore and by altering membrane elasticity. J Gen Physiol (2021) 153 (5): e202012701. https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202012701