Developmental & Stem Cell Biology

BMS is home to numerous faculty members with research programs focused on fundamental questions in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. In addition to the focus area within BMS, a distinct Graduate Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology exists for those applicants who are committed to those topics. This program has a more focused curriculum including coursework, seminars, and journal clubs specific to Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. The BMS program maintains a more interdisciplinary curriculum, integrating multiple distinct focus areas with an overarching emphasis on biomedically relevant questions.


Most Developmental and Stem Cell Biology faculty members have appointments in both programs. Key topics of investigation among the faculty include cellular specification and differentiation, organogenesis, tissue morphogenesis and regeneration, and cell-cell signaling during development. A variety of model systems are used to pursue relevant topics in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, including worms, flies, fish, chickens, mice, and human-derived tissues and cells.

 

Participating Faculty

Rik Derynck, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Transmembrane TGF-a and TGF-b Receptor Signaling in Cell Proliferation and Differentiation

Aaron Diaz, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
The Diaz Lab is interested in developing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of glioma.

Sheng Ding, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Our lab develops and uses chemical biology approaches to identify and characterize novel small molecules that modulate cell fate and function in normal or diseased states.

Steve Fancy, PhD, DVM

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Research Summary: 
Molecular regulation of oligodendrocyte myelination during brain development and remyelination following injury

Brian Feldman, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Tissue / Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
We aim to elucidate previously unrecognized paracrine and endocrine signaling pathways that regulate stem cell fate and differentiation decisions that modulate body composition and metabolism.

Susan Fisher, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Research Summary: 
Placental Biology/Bacterial Adhesion

Stephen Floor, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
RNA-mediated control of gene expression in health and disease
Mentorship Development: 

4/12/19  Acknowleding and Negotiating the Mentee-Mentor Tensions Inherent in the Research Lab (Parnassus)

Michael German, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Tissue / Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Research Summary: 
Development and Biology of the Pancreatic Islets

Andrei Goga, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Oncogene signaling, tumor heterogeneity and metastasis.

Douglas Gould, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Genetic Dissection of Extracellular Matrix in Development and Disease
Mentorship Development: 

12/2020 - Setting Expectations with a "Welcome to the Lab' Letter (Parts 1 and 2)
5/2021 - Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS)

Joanna Halkias, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Influence of early life exposures on human immune development.

Corey Harwell, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Molecular regulation of neural cell fate and circuit assembly

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