Research Expertise and Interest

neural crest gene regulatory network, vertebrate embryonic development, regeneration of tissue

Research Description

Megan Martik is an assistant professor of genetics, genomics and development in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. 

Research: The neural crest is an important stem cell population in the embryo characterized by its multipotency, migratory behavior, and broad ability to differentiate into derivatives as diverse as cardiomyocytes, craniofacial skeleton, and the peripheral nervous system. Underlying the development of these unique derivatives is a neural crest gene regulatory network (GRN) that describes the regulatory interactions at each stage of neural crest development. Her team is focused on understanding the regulatory networks controlling the development of the neural crest from a multipotent stem cell population into unique derivatives, how these networks are re-used during adult repair processes, how these networks become dysregulated at the onset of disease, and how these networks evolve to give rise to morphological novelties.