Deborah J Andrew
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Biology
How does a flat sheet of embryonic cells become a working organ in the right place, with the right shape? This lab studies the question in the fruit fly Drosophila.
- Fields
Biology
Genetics
Biochemistry
- Topics
Drosophila
fruit fly
embryonic development
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jan 2028
What they work on
- Map the molecular steps by which Hedgehog signals through the GPCR Tre1 to guide migrating germ cells in Drosophila embryos, from receptor binding to actin polymerization.
- Test whether germ-cell repelling Wunen enzymes and attracting HMGCoA reductase act through the Hedgehog-Tre1 pathway to steer germ cells in fly embryos.
- Determine whether Hedgehog and Tre1 guide the migrating salivary gland and whether Tre1 cooperates with or opposes a second receptor, Mthl5, expressed at the same time.
- Screen all GPCRs expressed in Drosophila embryos for roles in germ cell development or salivary gland formation, building on two candidates found in a pilot screen.
- Define how Fork head, the fly FoxA protein, works with Sage and Senseless to switch on salivary gland secretory genes, testing whether Fkh acts as a chromatin-opening pioneer factor.
- Identify Fkh partners and targets that reshape the flat gland primordium into a 3D organ, including three targets controlling non-muscle Myosin II and the membrane protein Crumbs.
More about the research
Fly embryos are easy to see, quick to develop and backed by a large set of genetic tools. One project studies G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), cell-surface sensors that read outside signals. These receptors are the targets of about 34% of approved drugs, yet many have no known role. The other project studies Fork head (Fkh), the fly version of the FoxA gene-control proteins that build many vertebrate organs. Both projects use the embryonic salivary gland as a model organ.
Why it matters
Most drugs act on GPCRs, so learning what unknown receptors do in developing organs could reveal new biology relevant to drug targets, cell migration and cancer spread. In mammals, FoxA proteins help build and maintain internal organs and protect against cancer and metabolic disease. Studying the single fly version may clarify how these proteins control organ size, shape, position and function.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Barth Grant
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Biology
Define how the Syndapin signaling hub on endosomes controls non-muscle myosin II and RhoA, a switch protein for actin and myosin, to drive fission of recycling tubules, using genetics in the C. elegans intestine.
Harim Tavares Dos Santos
University at Buffalo, NY·Microbiology & Immunology·Early-career
Map where tuft cells, rare chemosensory cells of the gland lining, are located in salivary gland epithelium and what they do, using advanced microscopy and experiments in living mice.
Lauren Anllo
East Carolina University, NC·Biology
Identify the signaling intermediaries that connect Slit and FGF signals from visceral muscle to expression of islet, a gene-regulating protein that directs niche cell movement, in the Drosophila embryonic testis.
The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
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