Faculty

Molecular and Developmental Biology Faculty

Our Faculty and Students Are Finding Ways To Cure Childhood Diseases

Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling Cancer Biology
Cardiovascular Biology
Gastrointestinal Development
Gene Therapy Genetics and Gene Therapy
Human Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics Genomics and Bioinformatics
Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling Hematopoetic System
Immunology Immunology
Mechanisms of Development Molecular Embryology
Neurobiology Neurobiology
Other Organ Systems
Pulmonary Biology
Reproductive Biology Reproductive Biology
Stem Cell Biology Stem Cell Biology
Visual Systems
Diseases We Research
Ann Akeson, PhD, Associate Professor
Lung development, focused on understanding the processes of endothelial cell signaling, differentiation and patterning critical for normal pulmonary vascular development and function [Visit the Akeson Lab]
Bruce Aronow, PhD, Associate Professor
Control of chromatin structure and gene expression in T cell development, leukemia and in vectors for gene therapy
Thomas Bartman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
Morphogenesis of the heart. [Visit the Bartman Lab]
Michael Bates, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
Digestive system development, including development of intestinal mesenchyme/smooth muscle and of the enteric nervous system; homeobox transcription factor regulation and downstream targets; intestinal differentiation and patterning; genetics of congenital disorders of the digestive system [Visit the Bates Lab]
D. Woodrow Benson, MD, PhD Professor
Identification and analysis of genes that cause congenital heart malformations
Nadean Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor
Transcription factors required for specification of retinal progenitor cells into neurons [Visit the Brown Lab]
Kenneth Campbell, PhD, Associate Professor
Cellular and molecular control of vertebrate forebrain development
Daniel Choo, MD, Assistant Professor
Early inductive signaling events in differentiation and patterning of the mouse inner ear
Chiou-Fen Chuang, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of neural circuit development by gap junction networks [Visit the Chuang Lab]
Mitchell Cohen, MD, Professor
Intestinal secretion; activators of intestinal guanylate cyclase
Robert Colbert, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Antigen processing and presentation in autoimmunity; immunoproteasome assembly and function
Tiffany Cook, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular basis of eye development [Visit the Cook Lab]
Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Reciprocal enhancement of gene transfer by combinational adenovirus transduction and plasmid DNA transfection in vitro and in vivo human gene therapy [Visit the Cripe Lab]
Timothy Crombleholme, MD, Professor
Role of endothelial precursor cells in response to injury and molecular fetal therapy.
Steve Danzer
Elucidating the role of neurogenesis in the development of epilepsy. [Visit the Danzer Lab]
George Daston, PhD, Volunteer Professor
Mechanisms of chemically-induced abnormal development
Jay Degen, PhD, Professor
The role of hemostatic factors and coupled signaling systems in development, inflammatory response, vessel wall disease and tumor biology [Visit the Degen Lab]
Sandra Degen, PhD, Professor
Molecular genetics of growth factors and blood coagulation proteins
Brian Gebelein, PhD, Assistant Professor
Patterning of the nervous and digestive systems during development [Visit the Gebelein Lab] 
Hartmut Geiger, PhD, Assistant Professor
Hematopoietic stem cell biology: Combining genetics and molecular biology to investigate DNA repair in hematopoietic stem cells and regulation of stem cell mobilization
Gregory Grabowski, MD, Professor
Molecular pathogenesis and therapy of human genetic disease
Min-Xin Guan, PhD, Associate Professor
Mitochondrial biogenesis, cellular and molecular biology of mitochondrial disorders, especially in hearing loss, blindness and neuromuscular disorders
Stuart Handwerger, MD, Professor
Placental and decidual gene expression
Janet Heasman, PhD, Professor
The role of maternal VegT in establishing the primary germ layers in Xenopus embryos [Visit the Wylie-Heasman Lab]
Rashmi Hegde, PhD, Associate Professor
Structural biology of proteins in embryonic cellfate determination, and proteins involved in the life- and infection-cycles of the cancer-associated papillomaviruses [Visit the Hegde Lab]
Gurjit Hershey, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
Genetics and the pathogenesis of atopic disorders.
David Hildeman, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular biology of antigen-specific T cells, including mechanisms involved in cell signaling, apoptosis, and sex-based differences in autoimmunity and the T cell response to viral infections
Christopher Karp, MD, Professor
Characterization of the molecular mechanisms underlying regulation and dysregulation of inflammatory responses in human infections, allergic and autoimmune diseases
Jonathan Katz, PhD, Associate Professor
Studies on the immunologic aspects of type 1 diabetes mellitus (autoimmune diabetes) using the nonobese diabetic mouse
Chia-Yi (Alex) Kuan, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
Understanding the regulation of neuronal cell death and neurogenesis during development and in ischemic brain injury
Richard Lang, PhD, Professor
Eye development with an emphasis on lens induction and vascular patterning [Visit the Lang Lab]
Tim Le Cras, PhD, Associate Professor
Growth factors in newborn lung development and chronic lung disease in premature infants [Visit the Le Cras Lab]
James Lessard, PhD, Professor
Cell and molecular biology of muscle development and function
Xinhua Lin, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular mechanisms of cell - cell signaling in Drosophila [Visit the Lin Lab]
Jun Ma, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulaton and development using yeast and Drosophila as model systems
Jeffery D. Molkentin, PhD, Professor
Transcriptional control of cardiac development and the molecular signaling pathways involved in cardiac hypertrophy [Visit the Molkentin Lab]
James C. Mulloy, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms involved in leukemia induction and maintenance; mouse modeling of leukemia using primary human blood stem cells [Visit the Mulloy Lab]
Masato Nakafuku, MD, PhD, Professor
Molecular control of neural stem cells in development and regeneration of mammalian central nervous system [Visit the Nakafuku Lab]
Daniel Nebert, MD, Professor
Regulation of genes, encoding receptors and drug-metabolizing enzymes important in drug - and environmental - induced toxicity and teratogenesis
Sarah Pixley, PhD, Associate Professor
Neurogenesis and neurotrophic interactions in olfactory neuron cultures and in vivo; neuronal stem cells
Steven Potter, PhD, Professor
Studies of homeobox genes that control mamalian development using gene targeting and transgenic mice
Nancy Ratner, PhD, Professor
The peripheral nerve in development and disease [Visit the Ratner Lab]
David Repaske, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular basis of endocrine disorders; control of signal transduction
Jeffrey Robbins, PhD, Professor
Molecular basis of heart performance and structure-function characteristics of cardiac contractile proteins related to hypertrophic myopathies [Visit the Robbins Lab]
Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD, Professor
Eosinophil biology, chemokine receptor signaling pathways
Randy Sallee, MD, PhD, Professor
Molecular pharmacology and pharmacogenetics as it impacts neuropsychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's and substance abuse
John Shannon, PhD, Professor
Lung developmental biology; lung cell biology; surfactant protein gene expression
Peter Stambrook, PhD, Professor
Mutation and genomic instability in progession to cancer; gene therapy as a therapeutic tool for cancer
Arnold W. Strauss, MD
Molecular basis of disorders of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies
Charles Vorhees, PhD, Professor
(1) Determine the mechanism of action of substituted amphetamines on brain development and (2) use of gene targeting to determine how deletion of specific brain proteins affect learning and memory [Visit the Vorhees Lab]
Susan Waltz, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular analysis of growth factors and receptor tyrosine kinases in tumorigenesis, organ function, and cellular trauma
Stephanie Ware, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
Genetics of cardiovascular development [Visit the Ware Lab]
Timothy E. Weaver, PhD, Professor
Cytoprotective pathways involved in adaptation to genetic and environmental stresses [Visit the Weaver Lab]
Jim Wells, PhD, Assistant Professor
Endoderm organogenesis and promoting the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into therapeutic endoderm derivatives. [Visit the Jim Wells Lab]
Susanne Wells, PhD, Assistant Professor
Papilloma virus and cervical cancer [Visit the Susanne Wells Lab]
Jeffrey A. Whitsett, MD, Professor
Lung morphogenesis, gene regulation and surfactant biology
David Wieczorek, PhD, Professor
Professor, Analysis of protein expression in normal and diseased cardiac and skeletal muscle
Daniel Wiginton, PhD, Associate Professor
Regulation of development and differentiation in the intestinal epithelium
Michael Williams, PhD, Research Assistant Professor
Interaction of stress-induced hormones and drugs of abuse on adult learning and memory abilities; physiological responses to later stressors; behavioral and physiological consequences of drug reexposure. [Visit the Michael Williams Lab]
Laura Woolett, PhD, Professor
Role of sterols in fetal and placental metabolism
Christopher Wylie, PhD, Professor
(1) Control of the cytoskeleton, control of cell migration and control of early cell lineage specification, in vertebrate embryos (2) Control of gonad formation, primordial germ cell migration, oocyte maturation and egg formation [Visit the Wylie-Heasman Lab]
Yutaka Yoshida, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of neural circuit formation in the developing spinal cord, using many techniques including molecular biology, mouse genetics, biochemistry, and electrophysiology to understand them.
Katherine Yutzey, PhD, Professor
Morphogenesis of the heart and transcriptional regulatory networks involved in cardiac determination and differentiation; congenital heart disease [Visit the Yutzey Lab]
Yi Zheng, PhD, Professor
Molecular mechanisms of Rho GTPase signal transduction. Development of novel therapeutic reagents to inhibit Rho pathways related to human pathological conditions
Aaron Zorn, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of endoderm organ development [Visit the Zorn Lab]