Mentor Areas
The Lefebvre research team investigates molecular mechanisms that generate the diversity of cell types composing the mouse and human body. Emphasis is on deciphering how transcription factors and growth factors specify stem cells and highly differentiated cell types, and how the expression and activities of these factors and their genes are regulated. Projects focus on skeleton and brain development, and on how gene mutations in the factors of interest cause skeletal and neurodevelopmental diseases.
Description:
Healthy human development and function require proper specification, differentiation, and coordination of many cell types. The mechanisms controlling these processes are complex and still incompletely understood, even though their disruption can lead to many types of severe diseases. Research efforts in the Lefebvre lab aim at decoding these mechanisms with the ultimate goal of better understanding, preventing and treating diseases. We mostly focus on transcription factors and growth factor-initiated signaling pathways that control skeleton and brain development and diseases. For instance, we study how the transcription factors SOX9 and RUNX2/3 functionally interact with one another to control chondrocyte differentiation in cartilage growth plates, how activating mutations in the growth factor FGFR3 affect growth plate chondrocyte activities and thereby cause achondroplasia, and how mutations in SOX5 affect excitatory neuron development and activities and thereby cause a neurodevelopmental/autism spectrum disorder called Lamb-Shaffer syndrome. Students will be given the chance to contribute to these projects by performing experiments in vitro involving primary cell cultures, transfection assays and molecular cloning, and by analyzing the phenotypes of genetically modified and transgenic mice through RNA and protein in situ assays on tissue sections and through the analysis of high-throughput epigenetic and transcriptomic assays. They will also participate in the planning of experiments and analysis of data, in the writing of research articles, and in the discussion of their findings and those of colleagues in lab meetings and journal clubs.
Preferred Qualifications
Recommended courses: cell biology, development, molecular genetics, biochemistry
Recommended technical skills: molecular cloning, bacteria and mammalian cell culture, PCR, histology, and R programming language.
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. Lefebvre laboratory (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
Details:
Preferred Student Year
Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Summer, Spring, Fall
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.