Molecular Embryology
Diseases of Development
- ADHD
- Atrial septal defect
- Autisms
- Birth defects
- Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
- Cancer
- Cardiac arrhythmias (av block, sick sinus syndrome, ventricular tachycardia)
- Childhood neuropsychiatric disorders
- Cleft-lip-and-palate
- Congenital cytomegalovirus infection
- Congenital deafness
- Congenital defects in digestive and respiratory systems
- Congenital heart defects
- Congenital heart malformation
- Congenital malformations of the ear
- Cystic fibrosis
- Ehlers danlos syndrome
- Exostoses (ext)
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Germ cell tumors
- Hearing loss
- Heart valve disease
- Heterotaxy
- Hollow visceral
- Holt-oram syndrome
- Hydronephrosis
- Lung cancer
- Lung infections
- Megacystis mmicrocolon intestinal hypoperistalsis
- Myopathy
- Ocd
- Proximal tubular acidosis
- Pulmon. malformat & genetic disorder
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Renal fanconi syndrome
- Respirat. distress syndrome
- Rieger syndrome
- Simpson-golabi-behmel dysmorphia (sgbd)
- Tourettes syndrome
- Trisomy 21
- Valvular heart disease (aortic stenosis and ebstein anomaly of the tricuspid valve)
View a complete list of the diseases that our students and faculty are fighting.
Research in this area focuses on the structural, biochemical, molecular, genetic and cellular mechanisms that govern cell behavior and pattern formation during embryonic development. Model organisms used in these studies include fly, fish, frog, and mouse.
A deeper understanding of how organisms are made and how environmental and genetic perturbations can result in birth defects will lead to our improved ability to regenerate and repair organs damaged by disease, trauma or congenital defects.
Faculty
- 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]
- Thomas Bartman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Morphogenesis of the heart. [Visit the Bartman 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, Assistant 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
- Tiffany Cook, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Molecular basis of eye development [Visit the Cook Lab]
- Brian Gebelein, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Patterning of the nervous and digestive systems during development [Visit the Gebelein Lab]
- 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]
- 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, Tenured, Associate Professor
- Molecular mechanisms of cell - cell signaling in Drosophila
- Jun Ma, PhD, Associate Professor
- Molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulaton and development using yeast and Drosophila as model systems
- Daniel Nebert, MD, Professor
- Regulation of genes, encoding receptors and drug-metabolizing enzymes important in drug - and environmental - induced toxicity and teratogenesis
- Steven Potter, PhD, Professor
- Studies of homeobox genes that control mamalian development using gene targeting and transgenic mice
- John Shannon, PhD, Professor
- Lung developmental biology; lung cell biology; surfactant protein gene expression
- Saulius Sumanas, PhD
- Molecular mechanisms of the embryonic vasculature formation [Visit the Sumanas Lab]
- Susan Waltz, PhD, Assistant 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]
- Jim Wells, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Endoderm organogenesis and promoting the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into therapeutic endoderm derivatives. [Visit the Jim Wells Lab]
- Jeffrey A. Whitsett, MD, Professor
- Lung morphogenesis, gene regulation and surfactant biology
- 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]
- 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]
- Aaron Zorn, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Molecular mechanisms of endoderm organ development [Visit the Zorn Lab]
For more information about the Molecular and Developmental Biology Program at Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati, email mdbprog@cchmc.org or call 513-636-4545. You can also apply online at our application page.
