Background

Dr. Lindemann currently maintains a research program to investigate the mechanisms of sperm motility, with special emphasis on the workings of the flagellar axoneme. A number of talented undergraduate students have been involved in the research, which is supported by the National Science Foundation. This work is supported by the Cellular Organization Program of the NSF (grant MCB-0516181). Presently, we have several Oakland University students participating in the work. The main contribution of the program is a series of reports which build a case for a "Geometric Clutch" mechanism to explain how cilia and flagella generate a beat. This hypothesis is tested in a working computer simulation. Much of the current experimental work in the lab is designed to test specific predictions of the Geometric Clutch model.