Cells are often precisely organized into patterns within developing tissues. This precision must emerge from biochemical processes within, and between cells, that are inherently stochastic. I investigated the impact of stochastic gene expression on self-organized pattern formation, focusing on Senseless (Sens), a key target of Wnt and Notch signaling during...
Current genetic studies are largely biased towards European populations, leaving the discovery of genomics biomarkers and causative genetic variants unexplored in minority populations, such as African Americans. Meanwhile, African Americans are disproportionately affected by a variety of complex diseases and respond differently to many drug treatments. The disparity is due...
Proper spatiotemporal expression of genes is essential during development. One method of regulation of signaling-responsive genes is at the level of transcription. In this work, I present the adaptation of single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization for use in Drosophila imaginal disc tissues in order to more precisely quantify transcript...
Gene expression is tightly regulated at the level of transcription through cooperation between cis-regulatory elements and trans-factors that bind to the regulatory elements. Together, these factors regulate the higher order chromatin structure which establishes domains that organize the genome and coordinate gene expression. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling transcription of...