Speaker: D'Juan Farmer, assistant professor in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles

Title: Unraveling the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control skull growth

Abstract: Proper formation and growth of the calvaria is critical for the proper accommodation of the growing brain during embryonic and postnatal life.  Sustained calvarial bone growth relies on fibrous joints called sutures, which simultaneously act as a barrier between neighboring bones and a source of stem cells to grow bones. In a common congenital abnormality called craniosynostosis, sutures are lost and neighboring bones prematurely fuse, limiting brain growth. In the Farmer lab, we integrate multiple animal models (i.e. mice and zebrafish) with cutting edge genomic, genetic and imaging technologies to decipher the molecular and cellular basis of calvaria development. Our primary questions in the lab seek to understand how the skeletogenic and non-skeletogenic mesenchyme is specified, how cranial sutures are established, how calvarial bone and brain growth are coupled, and how disrupting these processes lead to craniofacial defects. In this talk, we will discuss our progress unraveling critical developmental events that ensure promoter skull growth and shape. 

Host: Marna Yandeau-Nelson, GDCB associate professor