Matt Tyska receives the John Exton Award for Research
John H. Exton Award for Research Leading to Innovative Biological Concepts — Matthew J. Tyska, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Tyska earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at the University of Notre Dame, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Vermont. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, he joined the Vanderbilt faculty as an assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology in 2004 and was promoted to associate professor, with tenure, in 2010. He also is director of Graduate Studies for the department.
Tyska’s research has focused on the “brush border,” an array of subcellular protrusions known as microvilli that extend from the surface of polarized epithelial cells. In the intestine, the brush border serves as the sole site of nutrient absorption and a barrier to microorganisms living in the lumen.
Tyska and his colleagues have applied a unique combination of biophysical, biochemical and cell biological approaches to study how the brush border is assembled and how microvilli function in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Early investigations led to the discovery that the microvilli generate and shed vesicles containing enzymes that can detoxify bacterial toxins, prevent bacteria from attaching to epithelial cells, limit bacterial growth and modulate epithelial-microbial interactions.
His lab’s use of super-resolution imaging to elucidate the mechanism of brush border assembly has been described by colleagues as nothing less than “paradigm-shifting.” Tyska’s long-term goal is to determine molecules and pathways that may be perturbed in gastrointestinal disorders characterized by the loss of the brush border, including celiac disease, and to develop new treatments for them. His work also has relevance for understanding other disorders as diverse as sensorineural hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa.
Tyska also played a key role in obtaining an NIH grant last year to acquire two “super-resolution” optical microscopes that have helped put Vanderbilt on the cutting edge of cellular imaging.