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Kenneth D. Birnbaum

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The research in my lab focuses on two inter-related questions: How do multi-cellular organisms construct specialized cells and how do the genetic components of specialized cells change over evolutionary scales? The goal is to better understand how gene regulatory networks orchestrate cell maturation, a process that results in a set of highly specialized cell types. Thus, we focus on cellular differentiation, which is one of the key steps in organ formation and development in higher organisms. The approach of the lab combines genomics and molecular genetic tools. For example, we have pioneered a new technique to isolate cell types in plants using high-speed fluidics. From there, RNA from a specific cell type population is applied to microarrays to provide a profile of gene activity at the transcriptional level. Transcriptional profiles of cells can then be used to identify likely cell-specific regulators and infer properties of the genetic circuitry of cellular specification. More...

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Justin Blau

Faculty Page

How do genes control animal behavior? We have chosen a relatively simple behavior to start answering this question. Drosophila have a 24 hour (circadian) rhythm of activity and inactivity, which parallels human sleep-wake cycles. Recent experiments have even shown that Drosophila are not just motionless at night - they are also more resistant to touch and sound, indicating that they are in a sleep-like state. Although the timing of this behavioral rhythm can be set by light, flies retain a 24 hour behavioral rhythm for several weeks in constant darkness, indicating the existence of an endogenous body clock. More...

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Richard Bonneau

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Suse Broyde

Faculty Page

Laboratory of Computational and Structural Biology

Research Interests

The overall goal of our laboratory is to understand on a molecular level how environmental chemical carcinogens, present in automobile exhaust, tobacco smoke, and cooked foods, damage DNA structure so that they cause mutations which initiate the process of carcinogenesis. We employ a variety of computer modeling techniques to obtain atomic resolution structures of the lesion-containing DNAs. These are investigated in solution simulations and in simulations including the enzymes involved in transcription, replication, and DNA repair. More...

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Francesca Chiaromonte

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Research

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Gloria Coruzzi

Faculty Page

Research Interests

My laboratory uses molecular- genetic, genomics, bioinformatics and systems based  approaches to identify  the circuits that control transcriptional networks of nitrogen regulated genes in Arabidopsis. 

My lab is also part of the New York Plant Genomic Consortium, whose research on evolutionary plant genomics is performed in collaboration with NYBG, AMNH and CSHL.

For more information on these projects please visit these sites:

http://www.nyu.edu/fas/dept/biology/faculty/coruzzi

N2010 project:  Nitrogen Networks in Arabidopsis

New York Plant Genomic Consortium

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Claude Desplan

Faculty Page
Lab Page

Research Interests

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Rob DeSalle

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Patrick Eichenberger

Faculty Page

Research

Bacillus subtilis is a non-pathogenic soil bacterium and the prevalent model organism for all low GC Gram-positive bacteria. When B. subtilis cells are starved, they initiate a developmental program that culminates in the formation of highly resistant endospores (also referred to as spores). Endospore formation (sporulation) constitutes a relatively simple developmental system in which the generation of distinct cell types can be investigated experimentally. In previous work in the laboratory of Prof. Richard Losick at Harvard University, we have used a variety of genomics techniques to identify most, if not all, of the genes that are specifically turned on during the process of sporulation in B. subtilis. However, the function of many of these newly-identified genes remains undetermined. More....

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David Fitch

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Lab Page

Research
Using the developmental genetic model system Caenorhabditis elegans, we are characterizing genes responsible for morphogenesis, a collection of fundamental developmental mechanisms that shape and organize cells into particular forms. C. elegans is used for this study because it is complex enough to share components and mechanisms of more complex multicellular animals, but is simple enough to be described in complete terms. The structure we are using as a model for morphogenesis is the sexually dimorphic tail tip. This simple feature is constructed of only 4 cells that, in males only, fuse very late in juvenile ("larval") development and change their cellular structure and position. This results in a blunt shape (the pointy shape of the hermaphrodite tail results from lack of morphogenetic change). We've finished a complete transmission electron microscopic reconstruction of these cellular events using serial sections, providing a descriptive foundation for further functional studies. We have isolated several mutations that fail at certain steps of male tail tip morphogenesis, and are currently cloning the genes defined by these mutations to understand their molecular functions. More...

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Kris Gunsalus

Faculty Page

Research
With the advent of the "post-genomics era" a major new challenge has arisen in how to extract meaningful biology from large heterogeneous data sets. Our laboratory is interested in the analysis of diverse functional genomics data to identify groups of genes that work in specific cellular and developmental processes, focusing primarily on C. elegans. For example, we have used an integrative approach to characterize gene networks that function in C. elegans early embryogenesis, based on data from different kinds of functional genomics projects such as protein-protein interactions, gene expression profiles, and phenotypic maps. More...

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Amy Little

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Fabio Piano

Faculty Page

Research

We study the genetic and evolutionary mechanisms underlying early embryonic development using a combination of molecular genetic and functional genomics approaches in the animal model C. elegans and related nematodes. One of our major goals is to use RNA interference (RNAi) of ovary-expressed genes followed by time-lapse microscopy to work toward a comprehensive molecular description of early embryogenesis in C. elegans. RNAi offers a powerful way to obtain information about the loss-of-function phenotype of the genes tested, while the early embryo offers a system in which basic cellular and developmental processes can be easily studied. We currently have tested over 1,000 genes and identified about 300 genes required for embryogenesis. Although most of these genes are highly conserved, fewer than 10% have been identified in previous genetic screens. We use the data obtained from the RNAi tests to build gene clusters based on phenotypic analysis. The clusters are then used to guide two broad lines of investigation: (1) functional analysis of the genome, and (2) molecular dissection of specific cellular processes.

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Michael Purugganan

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Lab Page

Research:

Evolutionary and ecological genomics of plant adaptations
Why do different species look different from one another? How do developmental patterns change as a result of local adaptation? How are environmental signals integrated by organisms to condition an appropriate developmental response? These are some of the questions that we attempt to address by studying the molecular evolution of genes that control shoot architecture and inflorescence development in the wild mustard weed Arabidopsis thaliana. We are engaged in assessing the evolutionary forces that act in plant developmental networks at the species level, and in mapping and isolating genes that underlie natural variation in shoot architectures and life histories.

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Carol Reiss

Faculty Page

Research

My research interests are viral immunology, ranging from innate to neuroimmunology to cellular signaling as well as molecular aspects, and pathogenesis of infection. My lab has been studying the interaction between vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and the mouse. We are probing the role of the immune system in clearance of viral infections from the central nervous system and use many research tools including knockout hosts. Areas of research in the lab include analysis of the components involved in the breakdown of the blood-brain-barrier during viral infection, cytokine-triggered responses in the CNS, including signal transduction and down-stream events). We are studying the molecules which recruit different cells (neutrophils, natural killer, lymphocytes and macrophages) from the peripheral circulation to the CNS to fight the infection. We have been investigating the many roles of lipids in the innate immune response to infection; the effects of drugs which target cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and peroxisome proliferators activating receptor-g, as well as statins and cannabanoids are being investigated for their contribution to the disease pathogenesis. The role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates in both clearance of virus and immunopathology are being studied. The mechanism(s) by which distinct interferons suppress viral replication in neurons is another area of focus. We are also engaged in a microarray analysis of cytokine and viral infection-induced changes in the expression of mRNA by neurons. The infection and recovery of the olfactory neuroepithelium are under investigation; these studies will be extended to examine behaviors which are associated with the sense of smell and thus may be altered by olfactory system infection. More...

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Christine A. Rushlow

Faculty Page

Research
The broad goal of my laboratory is to understand the mechanisms that underlie cell growth and differentiation. Cell communication is an important mechanism that involves the transduction of information from one cell to others via signaling molecules such as growth factors. One of the most versatile groups is the TGF-b family of signaling molecules. They inhibit proliferation of lymphoid and hematopoietic cells thus limiting inflammatory response and promoting wound healing. They also induce bone morphogenesis in embryos and adults. During early development of several organisms they play crucial roles in directing cell growth and cell fate. More...

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David A. Scicchitano

Faculty Page

Research

The research in my laboratory primarily involves the study of interactions of chemical and physical agents with DNA, and the processing of the resulting damage by cells. To that end, we have been examining the removal of chemical adducts from discrete regions of the genome. This is being done in an effort to characterize a phenomenon known as DNA repair heterogeneity that is typified by the preferential removal of DNA damage from active genetic loci. The implications of biases in DNA repair are vast: Certain segments of the chromosome might be more susceptible to mutagenesis than other domains, making them hot spots for the induction of a variety of detrimental biological outcomes including tumorigenesis and cell death. More...

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Stephen Small

Faculty Page

Research

Our main goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms that establish the body plans of multi-cellular animals. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, many genes that control body form have been genetically identified in the last twenty years. Most of these genes encode transcription factors that are localized in patterns in the early embryo. We have concentrated our efforts on the regulation of the pair-rule genes, which are expressed in patterns of stripes in the early embryo. By studying how these patterns are established, we hope to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in position-specific activation and repression of transcription. Since many of the transcription factors we study in fruit flies are evolutionarily similar to factors in higher eukaryotes, understanding how they work in Drosophila should provide us with profound insights into developmental mechanisms in higher animals and man. More...

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Daniel Tranchina

Faculty Page

Research Interests

A main goal of my work to understand the neural mechanisms underlying visual perception. My research combines theoretical analysis, mathematical modeling and computer simulation, with experimental studies. One goal is to account for how neurons in the visual system encode information, that is, how they transform visual stimuli into electrical signals. The idea is to explain this encoding in terms of the neural circuitry, properties of the neurotransmitter receptors, and the membrane biophysics of individual neurons. Ideally, one attempts to construct a mathematical model in which each term in the system of equations has a physiological correlate. A long-term goal is to be able to predict the responses of the various types of neurons in the visual system to arbitrary stimuli varying over time and space. More...