Cell architecture in C. elegans
The question I am interested in is, "How do cells get the right shapes and make the right attachments to build organs?" Single cells have amazing morphologies that determine their function -- nowhere more so than in the...
The laboratory focuses on understanding how small molecules, particularly those from bacteria and fungi, control biological processes. Organizing themes include: 1) function-based discovery of microbially-produced small molecules and their roles in...
We investigate the mechanisms underlying germline maintenance and accurate chromosome inheritance during meiosis. Addressing this is of vital importance in order to understand the sources of errors that result in infertility, miscarriages, birth defects...
Our laboratory studies how chromosome behavior and positioning influence genome function and evolution, with implications for gene regulation, genome stability, and diseases such as cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders. Using mammals, Drosophila, and...
Within cells macromolecules form complex intertwined networks of functionally interacting components. The molecular mechanisms underlying biological processes correspond to particular steady states adopted by such cellular networks. Systems-level...
Diabetes and Obesity Genetics. The Soukas Laboratory in the Center for Human Genetic Research and the Diabetes Unit at the MGH seeks to understand the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes, and to identify new therapeutic targets for these common...
My lab has pioneered various aspects of the microRNA field and continues to make important contributions to this aspect of post-transcriptional control of gene regulation in stem cell development, cancer and aging. For example we are co-discoverers of the...
Research in the Ruvkun lab has explored three major themes: microRNA genes and other small RNAs, control of longevity and immune surveillance, and detection of life on other planets. We discovered in collaboration with Victor Ambros in 1992 that the...
Our studies have spanned evolutionarily conserved pathways of innate immunity, the integrative physiology that connects infection and immunity with cellular and organismal responses to stress, and how interactions with microbes influence neuronal...
Organisms possess a blueprint for life, which they transmit to their progeny. DNA (genetic information) is a major constituent of life's blueprint. It is now known that epigenetic information can also be inherited. A major focus of my lab is to understand...
