Elias Spiliotis
@septinlab
Professor of Cell Biology (University of Virginia), Research Scientist. Science, music, sports and politics. Opinions are my own and not of my lab or university.
Innovation: Investigators innovate by modifying standard techniques to fit new contexts, overcome resource limits, or address unique constraints. This adaptive approach involves customizing tools or blending distinct research traditions…
If you type "Journal of Cell Biology" in google search box and hit enter... this is the result:
Small club rock’n’roll (or rather post-punk) is my happy place. In DC for the last show of NYC’s Snowmen inaugural tour with Glom at DC9. #NeverTooOldForThis #MyNewestFavoriteBand
In primary hippocampal neurons, GSK3 inactivation promotes SEPT9-microtubule association. Phosphomimetic mutations impair asymmetric neurite growth — a key step in neuronal polarization. 🧠 Septins are downstream effectors of GSK3 in neurons. 5/7
This isn't just biochemistry — it works in living cells. GSK3 inhibition shifts endogenous SEPT9 toward microtubules across multiple cell types. Phosphomimetic & phosphonull mutations reproduce and reverse this effect both in cells and in vitro (images from in vitro binding below). 4/7
We show that GSK3 (glycogen synthase kinase 3) directly phosphorylates SEPT9 at serines 82 and 85, acting as a bidirectional switch that partitions septin between the two cytoskeletal networks. 📌 Phospho-SEPT9 → goes to actin 📌 Unphosphorylated SEPT9 → goes to microtubules 3/7
Septins are cytoskeletal filaments that interact with both actin and microtubules — but how cells regulate WHERE septins associate has been a long-standing mystery. We set out to find the molecular logic behind this decision. 2/7
A book chapter we wrote awhile ago: Peering into the Septin Cytoskeleton – New Insights Unlocked by Microscopy Advances Andrew W. Schaefer and Elias T. Spiliotis onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1... Out now in the new Royal Microscopy Society book "Live Biological Imaging Across Scales"
Tango forever! Post 2000 balls might as well be for a different sport…
Blessed to see Patti Smith live in DC late night at 78 years young. The raw intensity never leaves the bodies of these old dog punks! Fury, poetry, rock’n’roll
Bradknam style! The new meme for all exciting neuronal cell bio results. Use in a sentence: My axon extension movies are so sick, I am hopping around the lab Bradknam style.
In Pune, India for EMBO Cytoskeleton. Didnt have sitar performance and Filament cocktail bar in my bingo card but… hey! Come think of it every conference should feature a music performance by a local act and a bar called filament or tubule!
Happy Halloween y’all… from the victors of the Creepiest award of the 2025 Spooktacular Carving Contest
Exciting news! Submissions are now open for the first @ascbiology.bsky.social #MBOC Spercial Issue on #Septins Submission deadline: April 30, 2026 RT and spread the word at #CellBio2025 www.molbiolcell.org/cell-biology...
SPY dyes go up by ~24% on Monday. Get them now from Cytoskeleton if your stocks getting low.