Our Research
Our lab studies the genome-environment interactions that shape mammalian development and reproduction. We focus on pluripotent cells in embryo and give rise to all cell types in the body. Our recent work highlights that such foundational aspects as genome organization, transcription and environmental input are regulated in unique and novel ways in pluripotent cells of the early embryo and the germline. Our research is organized around 3 principal avenues of inquiry, each of which has several points of synergy with the other avenues.
Stem cell hypertranscription
Roles of transposons in development
Environment-epigenome interactions
Our Logo
Conrad Waddington was a prominent British biologist of the early twentieth century. In the 40’s and 50’s, he proposed the “epigenetic landscape” depicted here as a metaphor for the development of an embryo. The shape of the landscape is determined by the activity of genes. He envisioned that early unspecialized cells (what we would call today pluripotent stem cells), become more differentiated over time by being guided by the epigenetic landscape to different lineages (valleys). Ridges would be barriers to the cells crossing over from one fate to another. Our lab is interested in how genes shape the epigenetic landscape, how the landscape guides cellular differentiation, and how the environment (our added stormy cloud) can impact the developmental trajectory of cells.
Latest Publications
