Research Interests
My lab is studying transcription factor and growth factor control of thymus and parathyroid organogenesis and fetal thymocyte-epithelial cell interactions. The thymus is the primary lymphoid organ responsible for the generation of T cells, and therefore plays a critical role in the development and function of the immune system. Study of thymus development and function is therefore an important area of research relevant to human health. The thymus and parathyroids are also only present in higher vertebrates. By studying the mechanisms controlling their development, we may provide insights into possible mechanisms by which vertebrates have evolved "newer" functions, such as adaptive immunity, from evolutionarily ancient embryonic structures. Projects in my lab range from investigating the evolutionary origins of the thymus and parathyroids in vertebrates, molecular and genetic mechanisms of thymus and parathyroid organogenesis in mice, and transcription factor control of thymic epithelial cell differentiation, to the role of cytokines in epithelial-thymocyte interactions during fetal thymus development. We use a variety of approaches in these projects, including genetic analysis of mutant mouse strains, development of tissue-specific and inducible transgenes, comparative embryology (lamprey, zebrafish and mouse), experimental embryology, and immunological techniques.