My laboratory has taken a multidisciplinary approach to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of different types of somatosensations including pain and itch, which are initiated and mediated by primary sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). We identified...
Regulation of Sterol Homeostasis Elevated serum cholesterol is a primary risk factor for heart disease. A negative feedback mechanism prevents excessive cellular cholesterol accumulation by regulating SREBP, a membrane-bound transcription factor that activates genes required for cholesterol biosynthesis and...
The Fukunaga lab is broadly interested in RNA biology. More specifically, the Fukunaga lab investigates the mechanism and biology of post-transcriptional gene regulation controlled by small silencing RNAs and RNA-binding proteins. Our research projects will answer fundamental biological questions...
The ribosome is the macromolecular complex that translates the genetic code into functional polypeptides. We are interested in how this ribonucleoprotein (RNA + protein) machine catalyzes and coordinates the complex molecular events of translation. Current work in the Green...
My laboratory is actively engaged in discovering and defining cell signaling pathways that lead to either neuronal survival or neuronal death. We have characterized neuronal injury and survival pathways in fly, mouse and human models of Parkinson’s disease and...
Down syndrome (DS) occurs as a result of Trisomy 21 and is among the most complicated genetic conditions compatible with human survival. The Reeves laboratory complements genetic analyses in human beings with the creation and characterization of mouse models...
Our lab studies the earliest stages of embryogenesis to understand how single-celled eggs develop into complex multicellular embryos. We study how RNAs and proteins become localized to pattern the developmental potential of newly fertilized eggs. We have identified a...
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...
How are gene programs regulated to modify the brain during experience and disease? The Meffert lab studies molecular mechanisms underlying enduring changes in brain function. We are interested in understanding how programs of gene expression are coordinated and maintained...
My laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms by which cells interpret signals from their environment that instruct them to proliferate, differentiate, or die by apoptosis. This process is of fundamental importance in the development and function of the...