The vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is an amazingly complex structure composed of distinct subtypes of neurons and glia. Our lab aims to identify the molecular mechanisms that control the generation of the major cell types of the vertebrate...
Fueled by the fast-growing DNA sequence information, proteomics-the large-scale analysis of proteins-has become one of the most important disciplines to characterize protein activities and provide insight into functional network between protein molecules in a high-throughput format. More and more...
Our laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms and physiological roles of mitochondrial fusion. Mitochondria are highly dynamic and control their morphology by a balance of fusion and fission. The regulation of membrane fusion and fission generates a striking...
Understanding the cell biology of genomes and how nuclear architecture controls gene expression is necessary to truly understand biological processes such as development and disease. Although sequencing of the genome and comparative genome analysis have yielded insights into the...
The goal of the Meffert lab is to gain a mechanistic understanding of how selective gene programs are recruited and maintained to modify the nervous system during development, experience-dependent plasticity, and in injury or disease. Rather than focusing on...
We study how epithelial tubular organs – which are essential to life in all multicellular organisms – form and specialize. Using the simple unbranched tubes of the Drosophila salivary gland and the beautifully branched tubular network of the Drosophila...
My lab is an interdisciplinary group that devises and experimentally tests computational tools to explore cell type identity and its molecular underpinnings. A unifying component of our research is the gene regulatory network (GRN). GRNs are programs encoded in...
Messenger RNA (mRNA) translation by the ribosome represents the final step on a complicated molecular dance from DNA to protein. Though classically considered a decipherer that translates our 64-word genetic code into a proteome of astonishing complexity, recent work...
Laboratory of PARP biology in RNA metabolism Our research program focuses on how gene regulation impacts diseases states, including cancer, neurodegeneration and virus infection. Recent research focus includes a druggable protein modification called poly(ADP-ribose). Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are...