The Staley Lab’s goal is to understand the mechanisms that underlie nuclear pre-mRNA splicing, an essential step in eukaryotic gene expression. Pre-mRNA splicing is catalyzed by a massive multimegadalton ribonucleoprotein machine called the spliceosome. Using the model organism S. cerevisiae, we apply genetic, biochemical, single molecule, and genomic approaches to gain a deeper understanding of … Continued
Our research, like our study organism, has evolved. For many years, we studied the evolution of morphology between Drosophila species. This work taught us that morphological evolution is caused mainly by changes in the portions of the genome that turn genes on and off, rather than in the parts of the genome that encode proteins. … Continued
We work on the interface of molecular biophysics and systems biology/evolution trying to understand biopjhysical underpinnings of evolutionary dynamicws
My lab addresses questions of cell motility: movement within the cell and movement of the cell as a whole. Our focus is on the microtubule cytoskeleton, the motors that power movement, and the cargo structures and molecules with which motors interact.
My group’s goal is to recover endogenous biomolecules from ancient (usually Mesozoic) fossils demonstrating exceptional preservation. We seek not only to demonstrate that these molecules survive; we want to use them to address fundamental questions regarding evolution, physiology, and relationships as well as fundamental aspects of biomolecules giving them high preservation potential. We also seek … Continued
I am a developmental biologist who studies the earliest stages of embryogenesis to understand how a single-celled egg develops into a complex multicellular organism. My group uses a transparent nematode (C. elegans) as a model system. Our team found a link between the divisions that halves the chromosomes in the egg and the signals that … Continued
The work from my lab contributed to the understanding of primary cilia, small antennae-like structures present on almost all human cell types, as sensors of diverse cues. Our work has also shown that cancer cells can be ciliated and addicted to their cilia for uncontrolled proliferation. More recently, we have illuminated how the lipid and … Continued
Our overall goal is to understand cell-cell interactions that mediate the establishment of the early body plan of the mammalian embryo.
Our research group tackles the following questions: What is the nature and extent of genetic variation within and between human populations? What are the biological and evolutionary processes that have produced the observed patterns of variation? How do genotypes contribute to phenotypes for complex traits (and how can we identify the relevant genetic variants)? Currently … Continued
Our lab develops novel computational techniques to characterize the dynamics of regulatory circuits at the single cell level, in the context of diverse multi-cellular cohorts within complex tissues, including the tumor microenvironment. Recent work has focused development and cell fate, regeneration and cancer and tumor-immune interactions.