The Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at UCSF is home to numerous faculty with research programs focused on fundamental questions in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. Key topics of investigation within the program include cellular specification and differentiation, organogenesis, tissue morphogenesis, and cell-cell signaling during development. A variety of model organisms are used to pursue relevant topics in developmental biology and stem cell research including worms, flies, fish, frogs, chickens, and mice, as well as human-derived tissues.

Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program faculty involved in Developmental Biology and Stem Cell research have interests that often span multiple thematic areas within BMS, allowing a true interdisciplinary approach to research by overlapping with current topics in microbial pathogenesis, endocrinology, cardiovascular biology, cancer biology, and cell signaling. Developmental biologists at UCSF have numerous opportunities for frequent and close scientific interactions at a monthly journal club focused on current topics in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. In addition, Developmental Biologists on campus interact at an annual retreat each Winter and at an annual mini-Symposium held each Spring.

Tamara Alliston, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology and Endrocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
Skeletal Cell Differentiation and Matrix Quality

Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Birth and Migration of New Neurons

K. Mark Ansel, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
Regulation of gene expression in the immune system

Hilary Beggs, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Cell-Matrix-Cytoskeletal Signaling: Mechanisms of Eye Development and Disease

Gabriele Bergers, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling / Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Interactions between tumor cells and blood vessels to regulate neovascularization, tumor growth and invasion

Harold Bernstein, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Regulation of Cardiac and Skeletal Myogenesis and Repair

Montgomery Bissell, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Liver Wound Repair

Brian Black, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Transcriptional Control of Mammalian Organogenesis

Robert Blelloch, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Molecular basis of stem cell self-renewal, differentiation and contribution to cancer

Ben Braun, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Ras signaling in cancer stem cells

Katja Brückner, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Drosophila hematopoiesis and epithelial plasticity- models for cancer development

Benoit Bruneau, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Transcriptional regulation of heart development

Ben Cheyette, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Wnt Signaling in Development and Function of the Mammalian Brain

Pao-Tien Chuang, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Hedgehog Signaling in Mammalian Embryogenesis and Postnatal Physiology

Bruce Conklin, MD
Primary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Receptors, Stem Cells and Pharmacology

Heike Daldrup-Link, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Cellular Imaging

Rik Derynck, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Transmembrane TGF-a and TGF-b Receptor Signaling in Cell Proliferation and Differentiation

John Fike, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Radiation, neurogenesis and cognitive function

Susan Fisher, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Placental Biology/Bacterial Adhesion

Li Gan, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Molecular pathways in neurodegenerative diseases

Fen-Biao Gao, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Genetic and Behavioral Analyses of Disease-related Alterations in Neuronal Morphology and Function

Michael German, MD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
The Biology of Pancreatic Beta Cells and Diabetes

Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, MSc
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Normal and abnormal endometrial development

Andrei Goga, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Human Genetics
Oncogenes and Cell Cycle Control

Matthias Hebrok, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Molecular mechanisms of pancreas development, function and disease

Eric Huang, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Sensory Neuron Development

Holly Ingraham, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Mechanisms and Impact of Environmental Factors on Neuroendocrine Development and Function

Ophir Klein, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Developmental genetics of dental and craniofacial structures

Scott Kogan, MD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Cooperating Events in Leukemogenesis and Their Reversal

Tom Kornberg, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Organogenesis and patterning during development

Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Neural Stem Cells and Embryonic Cortical Development

Diana Laird, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics, Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of primordial germ cell development

Andrew Leavitt, MD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Megakaryocytopoiesis and platelet function

Daniel A. Lim, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Epigenetic determinants of neural stem cell fate

Stavros Lomvardas, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Identification and characterization of stochastic choices in the nervous system

Tippi C. MacKenzie, MD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Tolerance induction after in utero stem cell transplantation or gene therapy

Emin Maltepe, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
The Regulation of Cell Fate by Oxygen and Mitochondria

Gail Martin, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Vertebrate Organogenesis

Theodora Mauro, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Ionic Fluxes Control Keratinocyte Adhesion, Differentiation and Secretion

Michael McManus, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, Immunology
Mammalian microRNA and RNA Interference Pathways

Patrick McQuillen, MD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Cortical Development and Plasticity Following Early Brain Injury

Synthia Mellon, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Developmental Regulation, Molecular Biology and Novel Actions of Steroid/Neurosteroid Synthesis

Takashi Mikawa, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Developmental Regulation of Organogenesis

Mark M. Moasser, MD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Tyrosine kinase signaling in cancer

Keith Mostov, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Morphogenesis and function of epithelial organs

Feroz Papa, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Protein misfolding diseases and novel therapies

Emmanuelle Passegué, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Immunology
Molecular and cellular understanding of normal and leukemogenic hematopoiesis

Samuel Pleasure, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Control of early hippocampal development

Miguel Ramalho-Santos, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Regulation of Stem Cell Pluripotency and Reprogramming

Louis Reichardt, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Extracellular Factors Affecting Neuron Development

Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling, Human Genetics, Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Signaling at the Primary Cilium, the Cell's Antenna

David H. Rowitch, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
CNS Development and Disease

Eric Rulifson, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Developmental Genetics of the Drosophila CNS and Diabetes

John Rubenstein, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Genetic Regulation of Regional Specification and Differentiation in the Forebrain

Rich Schneider, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Craniofacial Morphogenesis and Evolution

Neil Shah, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Targeted Therapy of Hematologic Malignancies

Nirao Shah, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics, Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Neural control of sexually dimorphic behaviors

Jun Song, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling, Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Computational biology of genetic and epigenetic regulatory networks

David Sretavan, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Mechanisms of axon injury, disease, and novel methods of axon repair

Didier Stainier, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Zebrafish Developmental Genetics/Cardiovascular Development

Deepak Srivastava, MD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics, Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Molecular and genetic dissection of cardiogenesis and its role in human disease

Erik Ullian, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
The Role of Glia in the Formation and Function of Synaptic Circuits

Thiennu Vu, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
The regulation of lung vascularization and development

Rong Wang, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Secondary Research Interest:Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Cell-cell signaling in angiogenesis and arterial venous hierarchy in embryos, ischemia, and tumors

Valerie Weaver, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
The tissue microenvironment and mechanical force in adult and stem cell fate

Zena Werb, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Functions of the Extracellular Microenvironment in Development and Cancer

Holger Willenbring, MD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Mechanisms of liver regeneration and cancer

Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, Neurobiology
Pathogenesis of Human Neurogenetic Diseases