Research in the Tucker Lab focuses on developing novel technologies to probe and control the dynamic cell. We develop engineered optogenetic tools allow regulation of molecular biochemistry and cellular behaviors in live cells with fast temporal and spatial precision, including a widely-used CRY2-CIB1 tool to control protein-protein interactions with blue light. Other research interests include developing a suite of tools for control of biomolecular condensates and protein clustering, which can be used to better understand how disordered protein assemblies contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. The approaches we take in the lab are interdisciplinary, ranging from biochemistry, to yeast genetics and screening, to imaging-intensive cell biology.