Gerald H. Thomsen, Ph.D. (Professor)

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.