Kian Naini Rose Hills
Single Cell Dynamics Along the Central Dogma in the Drosophila Embryo
During the course of embryonic development, a single cell divides into a cluster of cells. These clusters form structures, segments, tissues, and organs in developed organisms. To probe the driver of this process, we turn to genetic signaling during the early embryo. Gene regulatory networks during development relay spatial and temporal information, forming patterns that shape the adult organism. This project aims to predict pattern formation and model single-cell dynamics along the central dogma using embryos in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, establishing a quantitative, model-based understanding of embryonic development. There are three main aims of this project. The first is to image the transcription initiation and protein patterns in the live, developing embryo, using new fluorescent labeling technologies and state-of-the art microscopy. The second is to simulate protein patterns based on different diffusion constants and investigate the effects on local and global protein patterns (concentrations among a group of cells). The last is to simulate single-cell mRNA and protein activity and test whether diffusion or translation can explain this reduced variability.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you so much for your support of my summer research project! I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to conduct research here at UC Berkeley and potentially contribute to our understanding of embryonic development. I am looking forward to developing my interest in biological sciences and physics.