The focus of my laboratory is in three areas. The first area is our long-standing interest in the mechanics of T-cell activation. In addition to our interest in protein phosphorylation mediated by T-cell receptor engagement, we have been interested in defining the function of the immunologic synapse. The second area of focus is on the pathogenesis of glomerular disease. Here we are interested in the function of the podocyte and trying to understand how genetic deficiency of CD2AP in podocytes leads to kidney failure. The third area is the effect of modifiers of protein kinase cascades. Here we are focused on scaffold proteins, namely KSR and its role in controlling the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase.