developmental biology | Biology Graduate Admissions Pathways Program

Crystal Rogers

Assistant Professor
Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology
School of Veterinary Medicine

Crystal Rogers examines how genetic and environmental changes affect early developmental processes in vertebrate embryos. Specifically, her lab studies embryos from two research organisms, chickens and amphibians, to identify the factors that are necessary and sufficient to drive the formation and differentiation of neural crest cells. Rogers and her students seek to understand the normal mechanisms that control the development of these cells and also to understand how environmental exposures can negatively affect development causing disorders such as cleft palate, peripheral nerve defects, albinism, and others.

https://www.crystalrogersphd.com/

Mitch Singer

Professor
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
College of Biological Sciences

Mitch Singer focuses on understanding how Myxococcus xanthus senses nutrient limitation and how this event initiates the developmental program. We have previously proposed a model whereby M. xanthus cells use their protein synthetic capacity to measure their nutritional status. A signaling molecule known to couple amino acid availability with a variety of cellular processes in E. coli acts as a second messenger in this process by activating a variety of starvation responses.

https://singerlab.ucdavis.edu/

Celina Juliano

Associate Professor
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
College of Biological Sciences

Celina Juliano studies the molecular mechanisms that allow the freshwater cnidarian Hydra vulgaris to have “immortal” stem cells. Her research can provide insight into regenerative biology and aging in vertebrates and other organisms.

https://juliano.faculty.ucdavis.edu/

Elva Diaz

Professor
Department of Pharmacology
School of Medicine

Elva Diaz studies molecular mechanisms of brain development, function and disease in rodent model systems. We used expression profiling as a tool to identify genes that are developmentally regulated during mouse brain development. Candidate genes are characterized with molecular and cellular techniques and transgenic mice. Currently, we have focused our efforts on molecules that function at excitatory synapses in the hippocampus, an area of the brain important for learning and memory.