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works on mesodermal specification and segmentation using the zebrafish as a model.

works on endoderm and mesoderm gene regulatory networks in a polychaete that gastrulates by invagination and forms a feeding-trochophore larva. The lab also studies mechanisms promoting transcriptional competence in multipotent and undifferentiated cells.

research is focused on embryonic skin development and spans the developmental period of dermal cell induction including adult patterning of skin. There is relatively little known about the genetic and cellular events that lead to the acquisition of dermal identity. Our goal is to identify the genetic pathways that confer dermal cell identity which subsequently drives the development of various skin appendages such as hair follicles. We are currently using transgenic mice and conditional mouse mutants to address questions of dermal cell origin and signaling requirements for dermal cell development.

We use a combination of genetics, live cell imaging and large-scale transcriptional approaches to understand the interplay of asymmetric cell divisions, cell-cell communication and environmental inputs in the generation of cell fate and pattern in the plant epidermis. 

internationally known for establishing the plasticity of the differentiated state. Dr. Blau's elegant heterokaryon experiments proved that silent muscle genes could be activated in diverse specialized adult cells. Recently she showed that adult bone-marrow-derived stem cells are similarly plastic. Her innovative approaches have profoundly impacted biology and medicine.

works on the mechanisms that control protein synthesis during oogenesis and early embryonic development of Xenopus laevis.

studies pattern formation in regenerating and developing vertebrate limbs.

We are interested in organ morphogenesis and patterning.  We are specifically focused on left-right patterning and the role of Nodal signaling in this process.  Additionally we are interested in understanding how cilia function in development, both in left-right patterning and in kidney cyst formation.

studies the biological role(s) of secreted signaling proteins during vertebrate somite development.

Research interests include middle ear induction and patterning, the role of Fgfs in inner ear patterning and tail organiser function in avians.

works on morphogenesis of the auditory sensory organ. The main focus is cellular patterning and polarization during development.

studies signaling in mouse neural development and behavior, focusing on novel Dvl-interacting genes.

Development of the cardiovascular system of zebrafish, with a particluar interest in angiogenesis and vascular integrity

current research interests include: skin appendage morphogenesis (particularly feather pattern formation); roles of adhesion molecules in mesenchymal condensation during skeletogenesis; and cell adhesion molecules in diseases/skin gene therapy.

Our research on sea urchin embryogenesis seeks to define genomic and cell physiological regulatory systems that control cell proliferation, differentiation, and the developmental specification of cell fate.

FishScope is a WWW archive of time-lapse recordings and confocal images of developing fish and other aquatic organisms.

studies a tyrosine kinase signaling pathway that regulates cell migrations during development of the mammalian cerebral cortex.

We study genetic regulation of neural crest induction and patterning in zebrafish, with an emphasis on the control of cell survival.

We use genetics and time-lapse imaging in zebrafish to study the three-dimensional patterning of the vertebrate head skeleton. In addition, we are interested in the origins of the skeletogenic neural crest and their role in tissue regeneration.

manages the GEISHA database (Gallus Expression In Situ Hybridization Analysis) with PI Parker Antin. The goal is to provide a comprehensive collection of embryonic chick gene expression images and associated metadata.

works on cell-cell signaling, lineage specification and transcriptional networks in the basal chordate Ciona intestinalis.

Igor Dawid's lab is interested in molecular mechanisms underlying differentiation and pattern formation in the early vertebrate embryo, in particular with respect to the establishment of the body pattern at gastrulation. These questions are being pursued in Xenopus laevis and in the zebrafish.

studies the development of zebrafish muscle cell identity.

studies evolution of flower development in basal Eudicots

studies studies developmental patterning in embryos and stem cell function during spermatogenesis.

Studies the mechanism of retinoic acid action during pattern formation using mouse embryos lacking retinoic acid-synthesizing enzymes and other genetic approaches. The role of retinoic acid in controlling differentiation of embryonic stem cells is also under investigation.

studies the molecular mechanisms underlying mammalian development.

Combines chick embryology and mouse genetics to understand the molecular regulation of neural crest formation, migration, and guidance.

Two major research areas in include: mechanisms that direct early zebrafish morphogenesis (especially epiboly), and development of morphology and rhythm in the zebrafish embryonic heart.

CISTRON focuses on the differences in DNA structure in and around transcriptionally active and inactive genes.

studies the roles of cytoskeletal motility in development, using early C. elegans embryos, especially during cell polarization and morphogenesis

studies the role of Integrins in cell migration using EC cells, and the role of Hedgehog genes in early mouse development, using both ES cells and mouse embryos mutant for genes in the hedgehog signalling pathway.

uses live imaging, molecular and genetic techniques to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the growth, differentiation and patterning of the early mouse embryo.  

studies evolutionary developmental biology; focusing on cranial development, neural crest migration, and the endocrinology of morphology.

focuses on understanding early vertebrate development at the molecular level. They study this problem in both the amphibian Xenopus, and in the mouse. Xenopus embryos are large and easily manipulated, so that the function of various macromolecules, such as RNA and protein, can be assayed by microinjection into living embryos. Functional assays in Xenopus can then be complemented by genetic knockouts in the mouse, to gain fuller understanding of the normal requirements for gene action in the developing embryo.

focuses on the genetic regulation of inductive tissue interactions in mammalian development by using the mouse as the primary research model.

Our lab focuses on the specification and differentiation of neural crest-derived autonomic neurons. We use both avian and mouse models and employ a variety of molecular, cellular and genetic approaches. We are interested in understanding the molecular basis of neurogenesis and regulation of cell type-specific gene expression in generating neuronal diveristy.

works on the signaling and transcriptional networks that establish lineage identity and pattern in the vertebrate gastrula.

studies the embryonic organizer and the mechanisms of early pattern formation in mouse.

studies gene regulatory networks in mouse preimplantation embryos and ES cells, using systematic genomics approaches.

My lab is using genome scale approaches to understand processes of development. There are two main projects in the lab. The first involves the nuclear hormone receptor family of ligand activated transcription factors, while the second project focuses on the process of transcript localization within cells and how this localization affects the functions of encoded proteins.

focuses on cellular and molecular processes that form and pattern the neural plate and on the transcriptional regulation of neurogenesis, using Xenopus embryos and mammalian stem cells as systems.

studies how the precise patterns of neural circuitry are assembled that underlie functional behaviors, including locomotion, perception, and memory. Specifically, they are interested in cellular and molecular mechanisms that guide motor axons and neural crest to their targets in the periphery.

studies the genes that control development and regeneration in the green anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis, and the genetic regulation of somitogenesis in the mouse.

studies for the formation and development of the vertebrate neural crest and the modulation of regulatory factor function by post-translational mechanisms.

focuses on oocyte maturation at both the molecular and cell physiology levels. Model systems include: the leopard frog (Rana pipiens), zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio), goldfish (Carassius auratus) and the african clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). At present we are particularly interested in large macromolecular complexes in oocytes.

research focuses on mechanisms of cytoplasmic RNA localization and the genetic control of morphogenesis using Drosophila as a model.

studies the molecular and genetic mechanisms mediating the phototropic response in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the specification of neuronal identity, growth cone motility and navigation, target selection, and the generation of neuronal arbors and tiling. Currently constructing the database for the transcriptome of Hirudo medicinalis, the animal we use in our research.

We use the zebrafish system to unravel the mechanisms that regulate oocyte polarization.  We are also interested in understanding how vertebrate oocyte polarity impinges upon polarized follicle cell fate determination, and whether reciprocal signaling influences oocyte pattern.

works on early development of gene regulatory networks in the sea urchin, specifically on how gene regulatory networks govern morphogenesis at gastrulation.

works on the evolutionary origins of Hox proteins. A long term objective of their research is to understand the molecular interactions that underlie functional specificity in the Hox patterning system.

investigate how signal transduction mechanisms serve to regulate cellular behaviors (i.e. proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and differentiation) during organ development in Xenopus laevis embryos. Our studies include examination of the early specification of tissues (such as the heart and kidney) as well as later patterning and subsequent morphogenesis of embryonic organs.

studies potential contributions of differential cell division and cell death in early morphogenesis of chick and mouse embryos in order to place an organismal perspective on dynamics of the cell cycle.

focuses on: the role of maternal determinant molecules in establishing the dorsal axis/central nervous system; the identification of the upstream regulatory regions of a neuron-specific beta-tubulin gene; the determination of amacrine cell fates in the retina; fate maps in Xenopus laevis.

Genetic analysis of cell polarity genes in Drosophila photoreceptor morphogenesis.

focuses in molecular and cellular mechanisms underlaying mouse pattern formation and organogenesis.

studies mouse germ cell development and oogenesis

studies the development of neural crest and placodes in zebrafish.

studies the genetic control of many aspects of early mouse development.

Studies the molecular events guiding adult somatic stem cells, tissue homeostasis and regeneration in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea.

We study nervous system development in a variety of arthropods, including Drosophila melanogaster and vector mosquitoes.

studies evolutionary developmental biology; focusing on body plan evolution of polychaete annelids.

studies  the development of the nervous system in Xenopus, with an emphasis on the sensory systems responsible for hearing and balance. The lab is interested in mechanosensory hair cell differentiation and innervation during inner ear organogenesis and morphogenesis. As part of this effort the lab studies ion channel expression during acoustico-vestibular development.

focuses on the molecular mechanisms of gut development and on how blood platelets are created from megakaryocytes.

Shostak, S., Evolution of Death: Why We Are Living Longer. Albany: SUNY Press; 2006.

Shostak, S., Becoming Immortal: Combining Cloning and Stem-cell Research. Albany: SUNY Press; 2002.

Shostak, S., Evolution of Sameness and Difference: Perspectives on the Human Genome Project. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers; 1999.

Shostak, S., Death of Life: The Legacy of Molecular Biology. London: Macmillan; 1998.

is interested in the developmental regulation of flowering and also inflorescence architecture in the garden pea.

studies anteroposterior patterning in the frog, Xenopus laevis, and the fish, Danio Rerio.

Organogenesis, regeneration and metaplasia. Mechanisms of regeneration of the Xenopus tadpole tail. Methods for reprogramming of non-pancreatic cell types to become pancreatic beta cells.

Studies signaling and cell polarity during early development of Xenopus and mouse embryos and the molecular basis of asymmetric cell divisions.

studies growth factor signaling pathways in mouse development using a variety of molecular and genetic approaches, including gene trapping and gene targeting.

investigates changes in cell membranes at fertilization and early development, involving lipids and lipid altering enzymes.

focuses on the question, what are the mechanisms by which neurons differentiate to achieve the spectacular complexity of the brain? Voltage-dependent ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors are expressed at early stages of development, substantially before synapse formation, suggesting that ion channel activity participates in signal transduction that directs subsequent steps of development. They want to understand the mechanisms of generation of spontaneous calcium transients and the mechanisms by which they exert their effects, and at determining the molecular basis of regulation of potassium currents.

takes a genetic approach in zebrafish to study vertebrate endoderm, heart and blood vessel formation and function. They are working with several mutations that affect distinct aspects of endodermal and/or cardiovascular development.

focuses on how one-cell embryos generate the diverse array of different tissue types seen in adult organisms. In the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, as in many species, this process is guided mainly by maternally supplied factors. They are taking advantage of the powerful genetics available in C. elegans to identify some of the maternal components required for the specification and development of a specific cell type, the germ line.

studies the control of gene activation during embryonic development and how developmental genes may influence morphology and larval life history. Their primary work is done studying primitive chordates, ascidians, in which closely related species have evolved amazingly different larval morphologies and life histories.

fields of study: growth cone motility and guidance; axon guidance, in vivo; muscle differentiation and morphogenesis; neural crest migration; and neural patterning.

studies the role of small RNAs including microRNAs in plant development. In a separate project, his group investigates how mutation and

selection shape the adaption of plants to their environment, and how species boundaries appear as a byproduct of these evolutionary forces.

studies developmentally regulated organelle transport, in particular the mechanisms by which cells control specificity, timing and destination of transport. Our main focus is the motion of lipid droplets in Drosophila embryos, but we also investigate how nuclei migrate in eyes and during oogenesis. A new interest of the lab concerns developmentally controlled protein sequestration and the model that lipid droplets serve as temporary storage sites for maternally deposited proteins.

studies cell fate specification and patterning using zebrafish.

studies the mechanisms by which cell fates and patterns are determined during embryonic development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, using techniques of genetics, cell biology, and molecular biology.

studies the molecular basis of cell-cell signalling over time and space in vertebrate embryos. They use predominantly mouse molecular genetics in combination with embryonic manipulation to study the mechanisms which (1) control establishment of the limb bud organiser (polarsing region), (2) morphogenetic signalling and signal relay during limb bud development, (3) the role of cell-cell signalling during CNS development.