Mechanobiology of Organogenesis

The broader goals of the lab are to understand how molecular cues instruct the physical forces that drive self-organization of cells in an embryo into the complex functional morphologies of our various organs. The research position is to contribute to a project on the molecular control of buckling in the small intestine, a physical mechanism by which the lengthy intestine is packed within the body cavity. Specifically, we have collected RNA-Seq data spanning the normal developmental stages during which this buckling event occurs, and seek a researcher that will mine this dataset for candidate pathways involved in normal buckling morphogenesis. As a result, the position is primarily for remote work, but with an opportunity to work at the bench, as the long term goal of the work will be to functionally test the role of candidate genes and pathways experimentally during organogenesis of the small intestine.