<<< Investigators/Teams

Developmental Biology and Genetics

Unit Leaders

• Jonathan D. Gitlin, M.D.  
• Louis J. Muglia, M.D., Ph.D.  

Faculty

• Mary Carayannopoulos, Ph.D.  
• Matthew I. Goldsmith, M.D.  
• Robert O. Heuckeroth, M.D., Ph.D.  
• Paul W. Hruz, M.D., Ph.D.  
• Patrick Y. Jay, M.D., Ph.D.  
• Joshua B. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D.  
• David A. Rudnick, M.D., Ph.D.  
• Scott Saunders, M.D., Ph.D.  
• Bradley T. Thach, M.D.  
• Zsolt Urban, Ph.D.  
• David B. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D.  

"We are standing and walking with parts of our body which could have been used for thinking had they developed in another part of the embryo."

--Hans Spemann, 1943

The process of development of an animal from an egg has been perhaps the greatest source of wonder in the history of science. Developmental biologists seek to learn how this remarkable series of events occur. For the principal investigators in the Developmental Biology and Genetics Research Unit, the answers to such questions are more than just a matter of curiosity but also a matter of life and death. Birth defects arising from errors in the developmental pathways of the embryo are a common and serious cause of childhood morbidity and mortality and each of our investigators is working hard to accrue new knowledge that will significantly influence our ability to improve the health of the developing human infant. Our questions include the most fundamental aspects of biology. Stem cells, gene therapy, artificial organs -- all this and more is here in the largest basic research unit in the Department of Pediatrics. Come explore and learn more about our efforts to understand the fundamental mysteries of life.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a complex network of neurons and glia within the wall of the bowel that controls most aspects on intestinal function. The Heuckeroth lab studies the molecular mechanisms of enteric nervous system development and recently demonstrated a critical role for neuronal precursor polarity and several intracellular signaling molecules in the developing ENS. The image from the cover of the Journal of Neuroscience shows a subset of cells within the myenteric plexus of the enteric nervous system after NADPH diaphorase staining.