V. Malhotra

Section of Cell & Developmental Biology

Focusing on the function and development of living cells, the goal of the Section of Cell & Developmental Biology is to discover the basic rules for assembling living cells and the mechanisms by which interacting cells are sculpted into a living organism. Specific areas of concentration in cell biology include understanding the molecular interactions that underlie processes basic to all cells: intracellular trafficking, organelle biogenesis, the cytoskeleton, cell cycle regulation, signal transduction, and cell movement. In developmental biology, the areas of concentration include understanding the control of gene expression in spatial and temporal patterns within an organism, understanding how differential gene expression leads to decisions of cell fate, and understanding the mechanisms that guide the morphogenesis and cellular function of multicellular organisms as disparate as slime molds, plants, and humans.