Jeremy Nathans is focused on defining the roles in mammalian development of a large family of cell-surface receptors known as Frizzled. Using genetic approaches, Nathans and his team have demonstrated a requirement for Frizzled signaling in a wide variety of developmental contexts, including axon guidance, vascular growth and differentiation, neural tube and palate closure, and kidney development, among others. Currently, they are investigating the roles of Frizzled signaling in central nervous system vascular biology, including angiogenesis and the development and maintenance of the blood-brain barrier. Nathans and his team aim to identify additional roles for Frizzled in development, homeostasis, and disease.
A cell-by-cell map of the mouse iris lays the foundation to study eye disorders and engineer cell therapies to replace damaged eye tissue. HHMI scientists have profiled key features of the genetic material inside three types of brain cells and found vast differences in the patterns of chemical modifications that affect how the genes in each type of neuron are regulated.