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lab profile

 

Claudio Alonso

University of Sussex
John Maynard Smith Building
School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex
Brighton, Sussex BN1 9QG
United Kingdom

c.alonso@sussex.ac.uk
+44 1273 876621

PI: YES
Taxa Studied: Invertebrate Animals
Techniques Employed: Quantitative PCR (qPCR), Microarrays, In Situ Hybridization, Antibody Staining, Epifluoresence Microscopy, Confocal Microscopy, Transgenesis, Mutagenesis
Research Description: Work in the Alonso Lab is concerned about understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling gene function during animal development, and in how changes in such mechanisms are related to the generation of developmental diversity during animal evolution. Our current research is mostly focused on the Drosophila Hox genes which encode a family of transcriptional regulators required for the correct head-to-tail patterning of animal bodies. We use the Hox system to study: (i) the molecular mechanisms underlying the developmental regulation of mRNAs at the level of alternative splicing, 3'-end formation, mRNA degradation and microRNA regulation, and (ii) the ways these gene regulatory steps are linked to specific biological functions accomplished by Hox gene products during the development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The Lab is driven by an international group of talented PhD students and post-docs, with diverse backgrounds ranging from pure biochemistry to developmental genetics, population biology and computer science. The common denominator across all members is our strong commitment to understand how development is molecularly controlled, and how the molecular systems controlling animal development have evolved over time.
Lab Web Page: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/alonsolab/
Willing to Host Undergraduates: YES
Actively Seeking Undergraduates: YES
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