Current Research Groups

• Chourrout Group - Molecular Genetics of Protochordates
  Builds and exploits genome data to gain insight into the evolution of chordate development, with focus on Tunicates. Uses the model organism Oikopleura dioica for studies of developmental mechanisms. Additional studies are performed on developmental genes in the Atlantic Salmon.
• Technau Group - Molecular Developmental Genetics of Cnidaria
  Uses the diploblastic Cnidaria to study the evolutionary origin of fundamental developmental processes and structures, such as mesoderm formation during gastrulation using a combination of comparative genomics, gene expression analysis and functional assays.
• Thompson Group - Chromatin and Gene Expression
  Focuses on the study of gene function and regulation in the epithelium which secretes the animal house. This epithelium is made of multiple compartments of few large and differentiated cells, each of which synthesises a set of house proteins.
• Jiang Group - Ascidian notochord morphogenesis
  Focuses on the study of ascidian notochord morphogenesis using cellular, genetic and biochemical approaches.
• Becker Group - Vertebrate Genome Regulation using Zebrafish
  Studies development of the fish visual and brain system, which produces and characterises insertional mutants using pantropic pseudotyped retroviral vectors in the zebrafish.
• Adamska Group - Developmental Signalling in Marine Sponges
  Studies intercellular communication during development of sponges, the most basal multicellular animals.
• Lenhard Group - Bioinformatics of Transcription and Transcriptional Gene Regulation
  Studies eukaryotic gene regulation and genome organization by computational methods, with focus on long-range regulatory interactions and their effect on genome structure and evolution.
• Glover Associate Group - Appendicularian Neural Development
  Studies regional patterning, neuronal differentiation and synapse formation in developing vertebrate motor circuits, as well as spinal cord regeneration and the neurogenic potential of adult human somatic stem cells.

Former Research Groups

• Cunningham Group - Comparative Immunology (Sept 1998 - Sept 2003)
• Olsen Group - Germline Development (Jan 1999 - Oct 2004)