The Cellular and Developmental Biology emphasis area focuses on elucidating the molecular and cellular bases of developmental processes using a translational approach that aims not only to understand fundamental mechanisms of organismal development but also to identify applications to human diseases and well-being.
Students in this emphasis area, in collaboration with a faculty mentor, conduct original research into basic mechanisms of development, often utilizing animal or plant models to examine animal or human diseases.
Research and training opportunities are available in broad areas that include control of cell proliferation/differentiation/death, cell signaling and signal transduction, stem cell biology, cell and developmental neurobiology, cell biology of the immune system, regulation of gene expression, and evolutionary developmental biology.
Related Faculty
Charles Anderson
- Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Plant Biology
- Professor of Biology
In vivo imaging of plant cell wall dynamics. Molecular genetic analysis of genes involved in cell growth. Cell wall. . .
Sally Assmann
- Waller Professor of Biology
Molecular biology of plant G-proteins and kinases. Phytohormone regulation of signal transduction and RNA processing. Second. . .
Michael Axtell
- Professor of Biology
- Louis and Hedwig Sternberg Chair in Plant Biology
Discovery and characterization of plant microRNAs and siRNAs. Functions of microRNAs and siRNAs in the evolution of plant. . .
Lu Bai
- Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Professor of Physics
Single cell / single molecule study of chromatin and gene regulation.
Seth Bordenstein
- Director of the One Health Microbiome Center
- Huck Chair in Microbiome Sciences
The evolutionary and genetic principles that shape symbiotic interactions between animals, microbes, and viruses and the. . .
Margherita Cantorna
- Director of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease
- Distinguished Professor of Molecular Immunology
Understanding the working of the immune system. Utilizing animal models of several human diseases including enteric. . .
Douglas Cavener
- Huck Distinguished Chair in Evolutionary Genetics
- Professor of Biology
Regulation of protein synthesis and control of translation initiation of mRNAs in higher eukaryotes and the evolution of. . .
Daniel Cosgrove
- Eberly Chair and Professor of Biology
Mechanism of plant growth. Function and evolution of expansins. Biochemistry and rheology of plant cell walls. Growth. . .
Timothy Currier
- Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Joining the Huck in January 2027. Open to taking graduate students. Developmental mechanisms that build properly functioning. . .
Francisco Diaz
- Director of the Center for Reproductive Health and Biology
- Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology
Ovarian physiology. Role of SMAD-mediated signaling in follicular and female germ cell (oocyte) development.
Patrick Drew
- Associate Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
- Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Engineering Science and Mechanics, and Neurosurgery
Optical imaging of brain dynamics during sleep and behavior; Role of blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid movement in. . .
Manyu Du
- Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
How transcription machineries and regulatory DNA elements organize in 3D in the nucleus to regulate gene expression.
Marina Feric
- Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Biomolecular engineering of cellular organization. Biophysical mechanisms underlying biomolecular condensates in health and. . .
Santhosh Girirajan
- Professor of Genomics
- Professor of Anthropology
Understanding the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Esther Gomez
- Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
How the interplay of chemical and mechanical signals acts to control cell behavior and function and the progression of. . .
Joshua Gross
- Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Biobehavioral Health
Cellular- and transgenic mouse model-based approaches to investigate the molecular mechanisms of G protein-coupled receptor. . .
Ying Gu
- Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mechanism of cellulose biosynthesis in higher plants. Genetic modification of plant cell wall to scale-up biofuel production.
William Hancock
- Professor of Bioengineering
The detailed workings of motor proteins and their role in intracellular transport and cell motility.
Michael Hanna
- Assistant Professor
How animal cells protect themselves from dysfunctional or damaged organelles, with a focus on lysosomes.
Wendy Hanna-Rose
- Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Head of BMB
Molecular Genetics of Metabolism and Development in C. elegans
Camilla Hughes
- Assistant Professor of Reproductive Biology
Reproductive biology, ovarian function, and reproductive-immune interaction
Timothy Jegla
- Emphasis Area Representative, Molecular and Evolutionary Genetics
- Associate Professor of Biology
Functional evolution of eukaryotic ion channels and evolution of neuronal signaling and cell structure.
Xiangming Ji
- Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences
Metabolic studies in the airway epithelium, spanning from normal cells to at-risk epithelial cells, and ultimately to cancer. . .
Wen Jiang
- Faculty Advocate of the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Core Facility
- Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhi-Chun Lai
- Emphasis Area Representative, Cell and Developmental Biology
- Professor of Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Signal Transduction, Growth Control, and Cancer Genetics
