Developmental Biology | Research Interests

Name	Email	PhD Program
Vetreno, Ryan EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Neuroscience, Pharmacology RESEARCH INTEREST Addiction/Alcohol Research, Aging/Alzheimer's, Behavior, Biochemistry, Brain Development, Developmental Biology, Disease, Epigenetics & Chromatin Biology, Immunology, Microbiome, Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Neurobiology, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Neuropharmacology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Regenerative Medicine	My research interests involve investigation of proinflammatory neuroimmune and epigenetic mechanisms in animal models of developmental neurobiology and neurodegeneration, including (1) alcohol pharmacology, (2) alcohol responsivity and tolerance, (3) adolescent neurodevelopment, (4) cholinergic system and neurocircuitry, (5) microglial function, and (6) Alzheimer’s disease. A major focus of the laboratory is elucidation of neuroimmune and epigenetic mechanisms underlying adolescent binge alcohol-induced disruption of basal forebrain cholinergic neurocircuitry in adulthood. A second major focus of the laboratory is investigation of lasting adolescent binge drinking-induced neuroimmune priming as a novel etiological factor contributing to the onset and progression of basal forebrain neuropathology in Alzheimer’s disease. Our laboratory combines ex vivo and in vivo rodent models of alcohol abuse and Alzheimer’s disease with innovative molecular techniques.
Gringeri, Abby EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Biomaterials, Developmental Biology	“I am generally interested in developing biomaterials, particularly in the context of tissue engineering. This includes hydrogel tissue scaffolds, microfluidic devices, etc. I am also interested in the chemistry of polymeric materials used for these applications.”
Holmes, Katie EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cell Biology, Developmental Biology	“I am interested in exploring the intersection between cell and developmental biology. I’m particularly interested in studying the morphological changes which specialized cells undergo during development and how a cell’s morphology contributes to it’s specialized function within a tissue.”
Chlebowski, Mady EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology	“I am interested in research questions at the intersection between cell and developmental biology; specifically, understanding how cells get to the right place at the right time, and make the right shapes to form complex structures and systems. I am particularly interested in answering these questions within neurons, but also find other tissues extremely exciting. “
Moore, Makala EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology, Translational Medicine	“I am very interested in all aspects of the microbiome: microbial ecology and the establishment of microbial niches within a complex system (why are these microbes where they are?), the functionality of the microbiome in terms of metabolites (what are these microbes doing here?), the interaction between the microbiome and the immune system (how is the microbiome established and maintained?), and how the microbiome influences health and disease (how does the microbiome interact with other systems and/or respond to insults/exposures?)”
Edwards, Whitney EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Cardiovascular Biology, Cardiovascular Disease, Cell Biology, Cell Signaling, Developmental Biology, Developmental Disorders, Disease, Genetic Basis of Disease, Metabolism, Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease	Our lab aims to identify the fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying heart development and congenital heart disease. Our multifaceted approach includes primary cardiac cell culture, genetic mouse models, biochemical/molecular studies, and transcriptomics. Additionally, we employ proteomics-based methods to investigate 1) protein expression dynamics, 2) protein interaction networks, and 3) post-translational modifications (PTMs) in heart development. Current research projects focus on investigating the function of two essential PTMs in cardiogenesis: protein prenylation and palmitoylation.
Chen, Gang WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Pulmonary Research, Regenerative Medicine, Respiratory Physiology & Infections, Signal Transduction, Stem Cells	We use cutting edge technology to study pathogenesis of human pulmonary diseases including cystic fibrosis, Job’s syndrome, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by both human specimens, mouse genetic models, with a goal of finding the therapies. Recently, we developed a serial of lung epithelial-lineage tracing systems, providing the powerful tools for identify mechanisms of lung disease involved in post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection, also known as “long COVID”, in collaboration with Dr. Ralph Baric’s Lab at UNC-CH.
McCauley, Heather WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Developmental Biology, Gastrointestinal Biology, Metabolism, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Physiology, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells	The McCauley Lab is interested in how the food we eat changes our physiology. Rare, nutrient sensing cells in the intestine called enteroendocrine cells secrete hormones in response to environmental cues that orchestrate systemic metabolism. How these cells regulate their neighbors in the gut is not well understood. We use mouse models which lack enteroendocrine cells and human pluripotent stem cell derived intestinal organoids to discover new roles for these master metabolic cells in the regulation of intestinal physiology and function. Enteroendocrine cells are dysregulated in inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, and loss of enteroendocrine cells results in malabsorptive diarrhea with poor survival. Our research has the potential to improve human health for a wide segment of the global population.
Guardia, Charly WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Developmental Disorders, Disease, Metabolism, Microscopy/Imaging, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Physiology, Structural Biology	The human placenta is the first organ to develop after fertilization and is the least studied! We hope to change this by using a multidisciplinary approach. From iPSC-derived trophoblasts in culture to mouse models and human placenta tissue, the Placental Cell Biology Group at NIEHS answers fundamental questions about placenta cell and developmental biology. Our lab uses a range of microscopy (cryo-EM, fluorescence), recombinant protein production, and -omics techniques. The goal of our research is to understand how autophagy controls placenta development, differentiation, and function.
Good, Misty WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Microbiology & Immunology RESEARCH INTEREST Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Gastrointestinal Biology, Human Subjects Research, Immunology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Pathogenesis & Infection, Stem Cells	The Good Laboratory is focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of a devastating intestinal disease primarily affecting premature infants called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The long-term goal of the Good Lab is to understand the signaling pathways regulating the uncontrolled immune response in NEC and how these responses can be prevented through dietary modifications or targeted intestinal epithelial therapies. Her basic and translational research utilizes a bench-to-bedside approach with multiple cutting-edge techniques. In her pre-clinical studies, their team utilizes a humanized neonatal mouse model of NEC to understand the signaling pathways and immune cell responses involved in NEC development. Specifically, the laboratory interrogates ways to modulate the immune response, epithelial cell and stem cell regeneration as well as early microbial colonization during NEC. In the clinical component of her research program, Dr. Good leads a large multi-center NEC biorepository for the dedicated pursuit of molecular indicators of disease and to gain greater pathophysiologic insights during NEC in humans. Dr. Good also developed a premature infant intestine-on-a-chip model to study NEC and provide a personalized medicine approach to test new therapeutics. Her laboratory is currently funded with multiple NIH R01 grants and has previously received K08 and R03 funding as well as awards from the March of Dimes, the Gerber Foundation and the NEC Society.

Research Interest: Developmental Biology