Gerald
H. Thomsen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
Ph.D.
Department
of Chemistry Page
My research seeks to understand the basic principles of how vertebrate embryos
develop. Understanding embryonic development is of fundamental importance to
general biological knowledge and to medicine. Many basic principles of biochemistry
and cellular biology have been revealed by embryology, and very often these
principles have proven relevant to understanding the mechanisms of disease.
The causes of a variety of birth defects, which are obviously of embryonic origin,
have been uncovered through the study of 'model' animals such as mice, flies,
worms and frogs. The molecular origins of diseases such as cancer, which is
characterized by uncontrolled growth and abnormal differentiation, are also
much better understood today through the efforts of molecular embryology. Underscoring
this connection is the realization over the past decade that many of the regulatory
mechanisms that govern embryonic development are the same as those that control
the normal function of adult cells. Furthermore, many advances in biotechnology
are fueled by new methods developed and applied to embryonic systems. As the
various model organism (fly, mouse, fish and human) genome projects progress
over the next few years, embryology is poised to play an increasingly important
role in puzzling-out the function of newly discovered genes.