My lab provides new knowledge about how plant cells integrate central carbon metabolism with cell signaling and growth control. Research questions are centered on Rac small GTPase-mediated signal transduction. Measurements in the lab span spatial scales, from the dynamic assembly of protein complexes that control vesicle trafficking and the cytoskeleton to the macroscopic assembly of micrometer-sized cortical patches that modulate the cell wall and define the patterns of cell growth. The research grew out of, and uses the model plant Arabidopsis (http://www.arabidopsis.org/) as a workhorse for both molecular genetics and cell biology. However, recent projects also involve both legume and monocot species (maize), and seek to understand how conserved regulatory pathways operate as plants grow and establish beneficial symbiotic relationships during root nodule formation.