Research Expertise and Interest
growth regulation, regeneration, cancer
Research Description
Our laboratory studies the mechanisms that regulate growth at the level of individual cells as well as the entire organism. We are interested in the growth that occurs during development to determine the eventual size and form of an organism. We are also interested in the mechanisms by which damaged tissue is replaced as a result of regenerative growth.To understand the way that growth is regulated in both of these situations, we conduct genetic studies in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, to identify genes that regulate growth, cell proliferation and cell death. In addition to identifying some of the key regulators of tissue growth in Drosophila, our studies have also helped identify genes that are mutated in human cancers.
In the News
Insulin-like signal needed to keep stem cells alive in adult brain
Most parts of the fruit fly brain, as well as the human brain, are devoid of neural stem cells, which means that once a nerve cell dies, it can't be replaced. A new study in fruit flies shows one way to keep these stem cells from disappearing as the brain matures.