Regeneration and Development

Regeration and development are two of the main focuses of the Bell Center, and are investigated in the following laboratories:

Jen Morgan, the Director of the Bell Center and associate scientist, works on understanding "how neurotransmission can be restored after spinal cord injury. [They] are specifically exploring how neuronal survival, axon and synapse regeneration, and other types of neural plasticity can contribute to restoring locomotor behavior after injury and how to improve the functional outcome" (Morgan Lab ND). Jen's lab examines spinal cord regeneration in lamprey following injury.

Marco Horb, a senior scientist at the MBL, focuses on the development of endoderm and pancreas, as well as "developing genome editing technologies in Xenopus" (Horb Lab ND). According to the lab's site, the "endoderm and pancreas work is geared toward elucidating the molecular signals underlying specification of the pancreas. The lab uses the amphibian, Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis, as the model organisms to identify the molecular network controlling endodermal organ development. The main projects in the lab are: 1) Develop and enhance genome editing technologies in Xenopus and create mutants to model human disease. 2) Elucidate how endodermal progenitor cells regulate proliferation and differentiation. 3) To define in detail the molecular lineage of the beta cell pathway from endocrine progenitors" (Horb Lab ND).

Duygu Özpolat, a Hibbitt Fellow at the MBL, works on discerning the mechanisms of reproductive cell regeneration. According to her lab's website, "many organisms (such as hydra, flatworms, earth worms, or sea stars) regenerate their reproductive organs and reproductive cells as a part of whole body regeneration, while vertebrates lack this ability" (Özpolat Lab ND). This is a very important regeneration ability that is not well understood. The lab uses marine invertebrates to understand different aspects of post embryonic growth and regeneration. They use "techniques such as live-imaging, genome-editing, mRNA injections, and transgenesis" (Özpolat Lab ND) in order to find the answers to their questions.

Echeverri (need info, can't find site)

Alberton (need info, can't find site)