Welcome to the Department of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis!
How does a single cell give rise to a mature animal? How does the developing embryo generate the correct types of cells in the right numbers, in the right places and at the right time? How do these normal processes of development go awry to produce birth defects and why can some parts of our bodies repair themselves while others cannot? The faculty in the Developmental Biology Department use different animal species, cell and organ cultures and computational modeling to gain insights into the mechanisms of development and disease.
Some of our faculty study the very earliest events in the development of an organism, while other faculty study the processes of aging, the final stages in an animal’s developmental journey. We make use of the latest technological advances to observe the behavior of single cells in the intact animal, to interrogate what genes are active in single cells, and to understand how different parts of the genome become epigenetically “open for business”, or alternatively placed beyond use as cells become different from one another. We make extensive use of genetically modified organisms, from worms and flies to fish and mice. These allow us to not only understand normal development, but also to create models of human diseases to better understand their causes and to test potential therapies. While many of the events in development, disease, degeneration and aging are common to many individuals, we are now also able to envisage the use of personalized therapies tailored to an individual’s unique genome.
Science thrives on the open exchange of ideas, and over its 100-year history, our faculty have fostered a culture of collaboration and collegiality, not only within the department, but also with our colleagues throughout the School of Medicine, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.
Developmental Biology faculty have leading roles in several research centers, including:
- The Center of Regenerative Medicine
- The Center for the Investigation of Membrane Excitability Diseases
- The Center for Cardiovascular Research
- The Hope Center for Neurological Disorders
The department has a rich tradition of mentoring undergraduate, graduate and medical students, and postdoctoral fellows. We are committed to creating a research environment in which all of our trainees can reach their maximum scientific potential and career goals, while addressing key outstanding questions and making important discoveries. Currently, our department is home to students from several programs in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), including:
- Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology
- Neurosciences
- Molecular Genetics and Genomics
- Molecular Cell Biology
- Biochemistry, Biophysics & Structural Biology
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
Thank you for visiting our website. I encourage you to browse the pages of individual Developmental Biology faculty, to come to our Developmental Biology Seminar on Mondays.