The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is an amazing organ. One of the earliest organs to develop in the fetus, it can serve its host well for a lifetime in which the mucosal lining is completely replaced every few days. The GI tract originates from the endodermal germ layer, and it develops in the context of significant epithelial-mesenchymal interactions that define tissue and cell relationships and functions. Present understanding about the molecular basis of vertebrate GI development is incomplete.

A major focus in the laboratory is to understand molecular mechanisms of gut development, in particular the transcriptional control of epithelial differentiation and the intersection between signaling and transcriptional pathways.

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Nearly a trillion platelets circulate in the blood of an adult human and provide an essential defense against bleeding. Platelets originate within the cytoplasm of megakaryocytes, the largest and arguably most beautiful of bone marrow progenitor cells. Although megakaryocytes are exceedingly rare cells, they produce almost 10e11 blood platelets each day, and each megakaryocyte releases hundreds or thousands of platelets in a terminal event of cytoplasmic fragmentation.

What are the molecular mechanisms that drive megakaryocytes to form and release blood platelets? In particular, what are the transcriptional mechanisms that control platelet biogenesis? This is the second major focus of the laboratory.

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