Distinguished investigator brings expertise in genetics and cell biology to Texas A&M AgriLife

Ann Wehman, Ph.D., has been named an assistant professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Her position is primarily devoted to cell biology research and teaching genetics.

Wehman brings a strong focus on developmental genetics, molecular cell biology and the role of lipids, or fats, during membrane trafficking. Her lab will work to uncover details of extracellular vesicles — small membrane-bound packets that can carry signals between cells or change a cell’s contents.

Wehman’s research examines how extracellular vesicles form, how they function during animal development and change in response to environmental conditions like diet. This fundamental research has potential applications in diagnostics for diseases like cancer, therapeutic drug delivery and the regulation of autoimmune responses.

“Cells are constantly releasing extracellular vesicles, and these vesicles can tell us a lot about the state of the body, especially in diseases,” Wehman said. “By studying how vesicles are formed and how they interact with other cells, we can learn how to manipulate vesicle biology for better health outcomes.”

Researching cell communication

The Wehman lab uses the model organism C. elegans, a small worm that’s key for studying cell biology and genetics. This month, two C. elegans researchers were awarded a Nobel prize for the discovery of microRNAs in this small, transparent animal. Wehman advocates for the use of such models in research, and her lab uses C. elegans to explore how vesicles bud from the cell surface and how cells receive signals to take up these vesicles and process their cargo.

“Extracellular vesicles carry a lot of information about a cell’s state, and by studying them, we can learn how to better monitor and influence disease processes,” Wehman said.

Technicians and graduate students from the biochemistry and biophysics program have already started on a variety of research projects in the Wehman lab, with projects ranging from studying membrane dynamics during phagocytic clearance — a process by which a type of white blood cell eliminates dying cells and foreign substances — to understanding the genetic pathways involved in extracellular vesicle formation.

The Wehman lab is also investigating membrane dynamics in the context of developmental biology. The early growth and development of embryos is heavily reliant on coordinated changes to cell membranes.

Wehman recently published findings that show the role of extracellular vesicles in maintaining neurons’ structure in the journal Current Biology, along with collaborator and fellow 2023 Allen Distinguished Investigator Andrew Chisholm, Ph.D., a neurobiology and cell developmental biology professor at the University of California, San Diego.

More about Wehman

Wehman earned a bachelor’s in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her doctorate in genetics from the University of California, San Francisco.

After completing her doctorate, Wehman held a postdoctoral position at the Skirball Institute at New York University Medical Center, where she focused on developmental genetics. She also spent a decade in faculty positions at the University of Würzburg in Germany and the University of Denver before joining Texas A&M University in August.

After growing up in San Antonio, Wehman said she is excited by the opportunity to return to Texas and join the biochemistry department in collaborative research efforts. Her lab is already up and running, supported by a new $1.8 million National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award, which will give her lab the flexibility to pursue research in multiple areas of membrane dynamics.

“This role has a large research appointment, and as a Tier-1 research institution, it offers really exciting prospects,” she said. “The opportunity to work with colleagues who are also focused on membrane biology, but from different perspectives, was a huge draw for me, and I can’t wait to see where these collaborations take us.”