Lab Website: https://medicine.uiowa.edu/acb/profile/robert-cornell

Developmental Genetics in Zebrafish.

Our work aims to dissect the gene regulatory networks that govern cell lineage specification, cell survival and cellular differentiation during embryonic development. In these studies we use zebrafish, a vertebrate model system well-suited to genetic and embryological methods. 
The Cornell lab group is currently pursuing several major projects. Members of the Transcription factor Activator Protein-2 (Tfap2) family are implicated in progression of melanoma and breast cancer, and are associated with risk for craniofacial abnormalities. We are studying how Tfap2 proteins fit into the gene regulatory networks governing development of melanocytes, or skin, and of the neural crest. Another focus is the gene regulatory network governing development of the periderm, a superficial epithelial structure. This network includes the transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 (IRF6); mutations in IRF6 cause orofacial clefting. Improved knowledge of this network should facilitate efforts to identify other genes that, when damaged, contribute risk for orofacial clefting. Finally, networks of regulatory molecules control the expression of genes encoding differentiation effectors. We are studying how a family of ion channels, the transient receptor potential, melastatin-like (TRPM) proteins, effect the differentiation of melanocytes and dopaminergic neurons. Overall, research illuminates the genetic pathways that govern specification, survival, and differentiation of cells. It also provides insight into how these pathways become disrupted in a variety of disease states, including birth defects, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease.

PubMed link

Department/Program Affiliations:
Anatomy and Cell Biology
Genetics
Molecular Medicine
Neuroscience