Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Cell growth, differentiation and development; Developmental Biology; Epigenetics; Gene Expression; Genomics and proteomics; Models - cell and animal; Molecular and Cellular Biology; Transcription Factors; Transcriptomics; Vision science
My lab is interested in the fundamental mechanisms regulating the shift of cellular states in neuronal differentiation from progenitor cells during embryonic development. We address this issue using the neural retina as our model system. Our efforts are on identifying key regulators, uncovering their roles in individual cell lineages, and understanding how they carry out their functions. Our current focus is on how transcription factors influence the epigenetic landscape to promote the formation of retinal ganglion cells. We are also investigating how posttranscriptional control of gene expression affects retinal cell differentiation. We conduct our research using a combinatorial approach of genetics, molecular biology, genomics, single-cell technologies, and bioinformatics.