Developmental Biology
Research Faculty

Meet the Developmental Biology Team

Leadership

Research Interests
Craniofacial development

Aaron M. Zorn, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Development of lung, liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract; vertebrate embryology Learn more about CuSTOM.

Primary Affiliation

Research Interests
Craniofacial development

Cristina Cebrian, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Zhiyuan "ZY" Chen, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Developmental biology; reproductive sciences; epigenetics

Sudhansu K. Dey, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Prostaglandin-nuclear receptor-angiogenic signaling axis during embryo implantation with special emphasis to cPLA2α-Cox2-PPARδ-Vegf...

Ziyuan Guo, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Rashmi S. Hegde, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Molecular mechanisms involved in normal development and in disease states using in vitro (cellular and solution biochemistry and structural...

Yueh-Chiang Hu, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
CRISPR; transgenic mice; gene editing; reproduction; germ cells

Makiko Iwafuchi, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Chromatin regulation; pioneer transcription factors; cell programming and reprogramming

Rulang Jiang, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Genetic basis and developmental mechanisms of congenital craniofacial malformations; tendon development, homeostasis, and heterotopic ossification

J. Matthew Kofron, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Early vertebrate patterning; germ layer formation

Raphael Kopan, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Notch signaling; kidney organogenesis; skin organogenesis; TSLP signaling in cancer
Research Interests
To uncover gene and genome regulatory mechanisms that are relevant to developmental and disease processes.
Research Interests
Pluripotent stem cell biology; disease modeling with human iPSCs; hPSC-derived organoids

Maria M. Mikedis, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Reproductive sciences; spermatogenesis; germ cell biology; developmental biology
Research Interests
Segmentation of vertebral column; pattern formation; cell differentiation; systems biology; computational modeling

Xiaofei Sun, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Female reproductive biology; endocannabinoid signaling in reproduction

Jason Tchieu, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Autism spectrum disorders; neurodevelopmental disorders; human pluripotent stem cells; directed differentiation; astrocytes; oligodendrocytes;...

James M. Wells, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Understanding the development of the pancreas, and gastrointestinal organs; generating 3-dimensional human tissues from pluripotent stem cells and...

Amanda L. Zacharias, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Embryonic metabolism, morphogenesis, Caenorhabditis elegans

Aaron M. Zorn, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Development of lung, liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract; vertebrate embryology Learn more about CuSTOM.

Secondary Affiliation

Lindsey Barske, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Craniofacial development; genetic engineering

Roger Cornwall, MD

Professor, UC Department of Orthopedic Surgery
Research Interests
Brachial plexus injury and the growth and development of muscles; minimally invasive surgical treatment for shoulder contracture in brachial plexus...

Diego Fernandez, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Ophthalmology
Research Interests
Neuroscience sensory and circadian biology; environmentally-induced disorders

Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Development of heart, lung, and vasculature; human induced pluripotent stem cells; organoid; high-throughput drug screening; human genetics Visit the...

Stacey S. Huppert, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Hepatic cell plasticity, development and regeneration; reprogramming; three-dimensional hepatic architecture; Notch signaling; hepatobiliary disease

Yu Lan, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Surgery

Richard A. Lang, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Ophthalmology
Research Interests
Wnt ligands in tumorigenesis; vascular regression and tissue regeneration; lens induction and morphogenesis.

Qing Richard Lu, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Neoplastic stem cells; malignant glioma; pediatric brain tumors such as medulloblastoma, ependymoma, and diffuse midline gliomas (DMG / DIPG); tumor...

Kyle McCracken, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Kidney development; stem cell differentiation and organoids; tissue engineering and morphogenesis; kidney pathophysiology

Juan Sanchez Gurmaches, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Adipocytes; brown and white fat; animal models; adipocyte development and heterogeneity; insulin signaling; animal models

Kelli L. VanDussen, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Intestinal epithelium; inflammatory bowel disease; primary cell culture; basic research; translational research

Ronald R. Waclaw, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Forebrain progenitor cell differentiation; “RASopathy” genes

Joshua S. Waxman, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Cardiac development; heart regeneration; congenital heart defects; molecular signaling pathways; transcription factors; retinoid acid signaling;...
Research Interests
Gene regulation Bioinformatics Functional Genomics

Chunyue Yin, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Liver biology; cholestasis; molecular genetics of pediatric liver diseases

William J. Zacharias, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics