Development & Differentiation

Multicellular organisms undergo developmental programs to form the adult organism or to adapt to their environment.

Understanding the molecular basis for development and cellular differentiation is key to defining many disease processes. GMB students use a variety of model organisms to investigate the networks of molecular processes that guide the formation of multicellular organisms. Research topics include muscle development, sperm development and fertilization, and germ cell specification and maintenance in C. elegans; development of the nervous system and sensory organs in mouse, Drosophila, and zebrafish; and the genes regulating formation of the Drosophila and mammalian eye.