Bio 351. Developmental Biology with Prof. Kara Cerveny.
Analysis of one of the most remarkable events in biology—the formation of a complex, multicellular organism from a single cell. With an emphasis on principles common among many species, this course explores how cellular, molecular, and genetic events contribute to distinct stages of embryogenesis. How are body patterns generated? What are the morphogenetic processes that give rise to specific organ systems? How is cell fate decided? What are the processes that guide tissue growth, regeneration, and differentiation? We will address these and other fundamental questions, discussing primary literature, recreating classic experiments, and performing new investigations. Students will apply the techniques and skills gained during the first part of the course to carry out an independent laboratory project.
Prof. Cerveny earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry, cellular, and molecular biology from in Baltimore, where she explored the molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial division and inheritance. She expanded her research interests with a Damon Runyon Post-Doctoral Fellowship investigating how neuronal tissues grow in at University College London. During her stay there she was funded by the Wellcome Trust, MRC, and Cancer Research UK and established the foundations for her current work. Her images of zebrafish eyes have been featured in the , the , and on the cover of the 7th edition of Molecular Cell Biology, edited by Harvey Lodish. Before joining the biology faculty at ºìÌÒÊÓƵ in August of 2012, Kara was a full-time scientific editor of . Research in her lab is funded by the and the (NIH).