Participating Research Groups

Please note that the below research groups may not always be available and this is illustrative.

PDN is an acronym for the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience.

SupervisorDepartmentArea of Research Interest
Prof Julie AhringerGurdon InstituteGenome architecture and transcription regulation in development
Dr Maria AlcoleaCambridge Stem Cell InstituteEpithelial cell fate plasticity in squamous tissues
Prof Clare BakerPDNVertebrate electroreceptor development: insights into the evolution of novel cell types
Dr Madelaine BartlettSainsbury LaboratoryThe genetics of flower development, and the developmental processes that drive the evolution of floral form
Dr N. Sumru BayinGurdonAge-dependent regenerative mechanisms in the brain
Prof Howard BaylisZoologyMechanisms encoding specificity in developmental signalling pathways, using C. elegans as a model system
Dr Thorsten BoroviakPDNPluripotency and extraembryonic development in primate embryogenesis
Prof Sarah BrayPDNNotch regulatory networks in development
Dr Erik ClarkGeneticsGene regulatory networks, embryo patterning, and evolution
Prof Bill ColledgePDNDevelopmental processes regulating mammalian fertility
Dr Sebastian Eves-van den AkkerPlant SciencesThe plant development-altering 'tools' of parasitic nematodes
Prof Anne Ferguson-SmithGeneticsEpigenetic inheritance: epigenetic control of genome function in mammals
Dr Angeleen FlemingPDNUsing zebrafish models to explore the developmental mechanisms underlying childhood neurodegenerative disorders
Prof Kristian FranzePDNMechanics in the development of the nervous system
Dr Elisa GallianoPDNEmbryonic and adult neurogenesis in the mouse olfactory bulb
Dr Jenny GallopGurdon InstituteFilopodia in neuronal growth cones and gastrulation movements
Prof Beverley GloverPlant SciencesDevelopment and evolution of flowers, plant surfaces and the attraction of pollinators
Dr Geula HaninPDNMolecular mechanisms driving mammary gland development, lactation and early nutrition
Dr Courtney HannaPDNEpigenetic regulation of placental development
Prof Chris JigginsZoologyEvolution and development of pattern formation in butterfly wings
Prof Henrik JönssonSainsbury LaboratoryUsing computational morphodynamics combining live imaging and modelling for understanding the dynamics of plant development
Dr Felipe Karam TeixeiraGeneticsMolecular mechanisms controlling and protecting germline stem cells in Drosophila
Prof Matthias LandgrafZoologyConnectivity and plasticity during neural network development
Dr Adria LeBoeufZoologyCollectively developing systems, metabolic division of labour and major evolutionary transitions
Prof Juan MataBiochemistryPost-transcriptional networks and cellular differentiation
Prof Eric MiskaBiochemistryControl of gene expression by non-coding RNA
Dr Edwige MoyroudSainsbury LaboratoryDevelopment and evolution of pattern formation in flower petals
Dr François NédélecSainsbury LaboratoryPhysical analysis and modelling of developmental and cytoskeletal processes
Prof Kathy NiakanPDNMolecular mechanisms regulating lineage specification in human embryos
Prof Cahir O'KaneGeneticsMorphogenesis of the ER network in Drosophila axons
Prof Ewa PaluchPDNMechanobiology of cell shape
Prof Uta PaszkowskiPlant SciencesMolecular mechanisms underlying the formation and functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses in rice and maize, which majorly influence plant development and performance
Prof Anna PhilpottCambridge Stem Cell InstituteFate choice and differentiation in development and paediatric cancer
Prof Emma RawlinsGurdon InstituteStem and progenitor cells in mammalian lung development
Dr Sarah RobinsonSainsbury LaboratoryCharacterising the mechanics of Barley leaf growth
Dr Alberto Roselló-DíezPDNInvestigating the determinants of vertebrate limb size and body proportions via sophisticated genetics and inter-species chimeras
Prof Steve RussellGeneticsGenomics approaches to transcriptional regulation during invertebrate CNS development
Prof Bénédicte SansonPDNIn vivo mechanisms of epithelial tissue morphogenesis
Dr Emília SantosZoologyGenetic and developmental basis of adaptive morphological traits in cichlid fishes
Dr Elena ScarpaPDNCell migration and division under in vivo physical confinement
Dr Katharina SchiesslSainsbury LaboratoryGetting to the root of symbiotic root nodule development in legumes
Dr Sebastian SchornackSainsbury LaboratoryReprogramming of plant developmental processes by symbiotic and pathogenic microbes
Dr Marisa SegalGeneticsCell cycle control of spindle morphogenesis in S. cerevisiae
Dr Claire SennerPDNRNA decay pathways in mammalian development
Prof Ben SimonsGurdon InstituteMechanisms of epithelial development in mammalian tissues
Prof Daniel St JohnstonGurdon InstituteEstablishing polarity in epithelia and axis formation
Dr Ben SteventonGeneticsComparative multicellular dynamics of pattern emergence during posterior body axis elongation in vertebrates
Dr Mekayla StorerCambridge Stem Cell InstituteMechanisms of Mammalian Digit Tip Regeneration
Prof Azim SuraniGurdon InstituteModelling early human development and the germline
Dr Richard TyserCambridge Stem Cell InstituteForm and function in the developing heart
Dr Jelle van den AmeeleCambridge Stem Cell InstitutMitochondrial genetics and metabolism of brain development
Dr Renske VroomansSainsbury LaboratoryComputational modelling to study the evolution of growth and patterning mechanisms
Dr Erica WatsonPDNThe epigenetic role of folate during development
Prof Tim WeilZoologymRNA translational control during early development
Dr Chris WhitewoodsSainsbury Laboratory3D morphogenesis of plants
Dr Fengzhu XiongGurdon InstituteCellular and physical mechanisms of tissue morphogenesis