Ann Cowan

My general research interests center on the dynamic organization of the plasma membrane and in the application of quantitative fluorescence imaging and biophysical methods to the study of molecular events in living cells.The Richard D. Berlin Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling (CCAM) is a highly collaborative research center that integrates optical engineering, biophysics, and computational methods to study cell biological mechanisms. As part of an interdisciplinary team at CCAM's NIH-funded National Resource for Cell analysis and Modeling (NRCAM), I combine high resolution quantitative imaging and biochemical analyses with mathematical modeling to develop computational simulations of specific cellular events. NRCAM is home to the “Virtual Cell” (VCell) modeling environment, a tool for creating spatially realistic mathematical models of cellular processes using a web-based interface that is freely available to the academic research community. I am currently focused on developing a suite of dedicating software utilizing VCell simulation technology to analyze quantitative imaging applications such as fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP), FRET-based fluroescence biosensor measurements and optogenetics. As Director of the CCAM Microscopy User Facility, I oversee a facility of confocal, 2-photon, FCS and TIRF microscopes that provides advanced imaging capabilities to the UCHC and broader research community. I also collaborate extensively in projects that apply quantitative fluorescence imaging to a wide range of cellular systems.

[2025] Resistance and germination of spores of Bacillus species lacking members of a spore integral inner membrane protein family and locations of these proteins in spores. [2024] Diffusible fraction of niche BMP ligand safeguards stem-cell differentiation. [2023] Beyond analytic solution: Analysis of FRAP experiments by spatial simulation of the forward problem. [2023] Expression of the 2Duf protein in wild-type Bacillus subtilis spores stabilizes inner membrane proteins and increases spore resistance to wet heat and hydrogen peroxide.