My laboratory is studying how cell fate is established during development. In particular, we are investigating the process of pattern formation during head and brain development in Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila is an excellent model system for this analysis because it is amenable to genetic, molecular, and cellular approaches. One specific area we are studying is the role of homeobox genes in cell fate specification.
Homeobox genes act as master developmental regulators in specifying cellular identities.
Recent studies in my laboratory and elsewhere show that these genes are highly conserved between fruitflies and vertebrates. Using the powerful techniques possible in Drosophila, we are determining the molecular genetic pathway that governs cell fate determination in such evolutionarily distant organisms. Gradients and gene regulation during embryonic development. Homeobox target genes in head and brain formation. Representative publications Finkelstein, R. and N. Perrimon.