Photo by Matt Miller, Medical Photographer

Current research

Our research is highly diverse and includes topics ranging from embryogenesis, cell reprogramming and organogenesis to aging and stem cell engineering.

Our ongoing and future work will focus on new and emerging areas of developmental biology, such as epigenetics and genomics. 

Model systems

We house one of the largest zebrafish facilities in the world. Along with zebrafish (D. rerio), we study several other model systems, including the fruit fly (D. melanogaster)nematode (C. elegansand mouse (M. musculus), as well as tissue culture systems and embryonic stem cells.

Upcoming events



Latest news

Thor Theunissen’s New Publication

Thor Theunissen’s New Publication

Congratulations to Thor Theunissen’s Lab on their recent publication! Generation of 3D Trophoblast Organoids from Human Naïve Pluripotent Stem Cells Karvas RM, Theunissen TW. Methods Mol Biol. 2024;2767:85-103. PMID: 37402094 
Douglas Covey’s New Publication

Douglas Covey’s New Publication

Congratulations to Dr. Covey’s Lab on their recent publication! Comparison of Behavioral Effects of GABAergic Low- and High-Efficacy Neuroactive Steroids in the Zebrafish Larvae Assay Germann AL, Xu Y, Covey DF, Evers AS, Akk G. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2024 Mar 6;15(5):909-915. PMID: 38386612
Kerry Kornfeld’s New Publication

Kerry Kornfeld’s New Publication

Congratulations to Dr. Kornfeld’s Lab on their recent publication! Lysosome-related organelles contain an expansion compartment that mediates delivery of zinc transporters to promote homeostasis Mendoza AD, Dietrich N, Tan CH, Herrera D, Kasiah J, Payne Z, Cubillas C, Schneider DL, Kornfeld K. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Feb 13;121(7):e2307143121. PMID: 38330011