Soma Dash
University at Albany, NY·Genetics·Early-career
Cleft palate occurs in about 1 in 700 births and an undersized lower jaw, called retrognathia, in about 1 in 1,500. Both usually begin with problems in neural crest cells, embryonic cells that build most of the bone and cartilage of the face.
- Fields
Genetics
Biology
Biochemistry
- Topics
craniofacial development
neural crest cells
cleft palate
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Identify the mechanism behind craniofacial defects in mice lacking Med23, a Mediator complex subunit, in neural crest cells, by analyzing transcriptomic changes and mapping Med23's DNA and protein binding partners.
- Characterize how craniofacial and vascular defects arise in mice lacking Med23 in endothelial cells, the blood vessel lining, through analysis of the craniofacial transcriptome.
- Test how Med23 controls the bone-forming gene Runx2 and the signaling protein β-Catenin in the mandibular mesenchyme, the embryonic tissue that builds the lower jaw.
- Generate and characterize loss-of-function mutants of Med24, another Mediator tail submodule protein, to compare its developmental role with that of Med23.
More about the research
For most such birth defects the molecular cause remains unknown. At the center of this project sits a puzzle: how can a protein present in every cell of the embryo direct the development of one particular tissue, such as the face?
Why it matters
Craniofacial anomalies make up about one-third of all congenital defects and appear in conditions such as Treacher Collins and DiGeorge syndromes, yet most lack a molecular diagnosis. Clarifying how Mediator subunits regulate craniofacial genes could explain undiagnosed cases and potentially point toward new therapeutic avenues for children born with cleft palate or jaw malformations.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kristin Artinger
University of Minnesota, MN·Biology
Identify the RNAs and proteins concentrated in the thin protrusions of migrating neural crest cells, by profiling their transcriptome and proteome, and test whether these molecules are required for directed cell movement.
Lomeli Shull
University of New Mexico, NM·Biology·Early-career
Define how Prdm3 and Prdm16 regulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling, a pathway that steers cell fate, in cartilage cells during zebrafish craniofacial development using molecular, genetic and epigenetic tools.
Johann Eberhart
University of Texas at Austin, TX·Biology
Characterize how reactive oxygen species (ROS), damaging reactive molecules, contribute to ethanol-induced birth defects, using genetic screens in zebrafish embryos.
The school
University at Albany: 15 labs on PI Pages, $472M a year on research, 144 research doctorates a year.
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