The mitotic spindle of eukaryotic cells is a complex biological machine that ensures chromosomes are accurately divided into daughter cells at the end of cell division. Equally important is the control of the position of the metaphase spindle relative to the future plane of cell cleavage. Research in the Vogel lab focuses how the mitotic spindle forms by measuring the changes in the structure and properties of the spindle during its assembly, and the process of symmetry breaking of proteins required for spindle positioning within the cell volume. We engineer the simple eukaryote budding yeast to approximate the conditions found in cancer cells and use this model system to study the relationship between the properties of the spindle and its function in chromosome inheritance. The Vogel lab is an interdisciplinary group using molecular tools, quantitative microscopy and biophysical measurements in living cells and well as protein structure-functional analysis to understand the importance of controlling microtubule number, organization and interactions with microtubule associated proteins during spindle
assembly and positioning.