J. David Lambert
University of Rochester, NY·Biology
Retinoic acid, an active form of vitamin A, is a chemical signal that cells use to coordinate human development. For a long time it was thought that only vertebrates used this signal.
- Fields
Biology
Ecology & Evolution
Genetics
- Topics
retinoic acid
RA signaling
vitamin A
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Screen 17 candidate retinoic acid pathway genes in the snail Tritia (Ilyanassa) embryo for the developmental defects caused by disrupting known RA components, then test hits for functional interactions with those components.
- Measure the snail embryo's own levels of different retinoic acid isomers, chemical variants of the signal, across developmental stages.
- Test whether disrupting retinoic acid signaling alters nervous system development (neurogenesis) in the snail embryo, comparing with vertebrates and other invertebrates.
- Test specific models of how retinoic acid acts, including whether different RA doses switch on target genes to different degrees.
More about the research
However, genes for the retinoic acid (RA) pathway have since turned up in the genomes of many invertebrates, and nobody knows what the pathway does in those animals. Answering that question would show how this developmental signal arose during evolution.
Why it matters
This is basic research on how a vitamin A–derived signal, essential for human development, came to exist and what it does in invertebrate animals. By mapping the pathway in a snail embryo, the work could change how scientists understand the evolution of retinoic acid signaling. Its findings on nervous system development could also inform comparative studies of how animal nervous systems form.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
University of Rochester: 38 labs on PI Pages, $492M a year on research, 308 research doctorates a year.
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