Development & Disease

We use organisms selected for their unique phylogenetic position or their experimental utility to uncover fundamental genetic and cellular underpinnings of development and homeostasis, and ask how alterations to these processes can lead to evolutionary changes or disease. 

Christian Agatemor

Christian Agatemor

Asst. Professor
Secondary Faculty in Biology

(305) 284-8480
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Research at the Agatemor Lab interfaces between chemistry and cell biology. Specifically, the lab develops chemistry-based tools to study and regulate biological systems. These tools include bioorthogonal chemical reporters, bespoke glycans and glycan ligands, redox-active biomaterials, and deep eutectic solvents. The overarching goal is to use...
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James D Baker

James D Baker

Research Associate Professor

(305) 284-9055
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I study the mechanisms that regulate and underlie ciliary development in animals (Drosophila in particular).  While cilia are ubiquitous on animal cells and intriguing for their fantastic ultrastructure, they have only recently been recognized as having fundamental roles in development and human disease.  In my lab we...
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William E Browne

William E Browne

Associate Professor

(305) 284-3319
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Research in my lab is focused on investigating patterns of change underlying animal diversity.  We employ a wide range of experimental approaches to explore the molecular genetic relationship between genotype and phenotype from both developmental and evolutionary perspectives. Current work in the lab primarily use cultures of the lobate...
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Kevin M Collins

Kevin M Collins

Assoc. Professor

(305) 284-9058
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Our fundamental goal is to understand how neurons communicate in circuits to establish an appropriate level of activity that produces a robust, stable behavior. Our approach is to analyze in detail a model neural circuit that controls egg-laying behavior in the nematode C. elegans. We are taking advantage of the optical clarity and powerful...
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Julia Dallman

Julia Dallman

Assoc. Professor

(305) 284-3954
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Determining the mechanisms by which genes influence behavior is the central goal of my research program. The genome-sequencing revolution has identified thousands of genetic mutations that cause neurological disorders that impact human behavior. For any given disorder, mutations in hundreds of different genes can similarly affect behavior, and...
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Zhongmin Lu

Zhongmin Lu

Assoc. Professor

(305) 284-5048
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I am interested in sensory neurobiology with the primary focus on the sense of hearing. My Previous work emphasized on central auditory processing, sound localization, and ultrasonic detection in fish. The current research of my lab is to use the zebrafish (Danio rerio) to model hearing disorders in humans. The zebrafish has become an...
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Sandra Rieger

Sandra Rieger

Assoc. Professor

(305) 284-9935
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I completed my undergraduate degree in Germany and pursued a PhD at the Helmholtz Center Munich, in collaboration with the Technical University Munich. My PhD research focused on investigating the role of cell-cell adhesion molecules in cerebellar development, utilizing advanced in vivo time-lapse imaging technologies. Subsequently, I conducted...
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Athula H Wikramanayake

Athula H Wikramanayake, Ph.D.

Professor

(305) 284-4134
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I am an evolutionary developmental biologist and my laboratory uses embryological, molecular, genomic and phylogenetic approaches to investigate the evolution of pattern formation in metazoan embryos. A major focus of my laboratory is to investigate the molecular basis for the evolution, specification and patterning of the animal-vegetal (AV)...
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Alexandra C C Wilson

Alexandra C C Wilson

Interim Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs
Professor

(305) 284-2003
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Alex C. C. Wilson serves as Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Miami. An evolutionary biologist, Dr. Wilson is a professor in the Department of Biology, where she has served as both associate chair of biology (2021-2023) and director of Graduate Studies in biology (2015-2019).In 2006, Dr. Wilson was recruited to the...
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