Evolutionarily conserved role of mTOR signaling in vertebrate limb and fin regeneration

Speaker

Igor Schneider

Louisiana State University

When: Oct 27, 2023 - 12:00pm - 01:00pm

Where: 1010 PAIS

The ability to regenerate lost body parts is widespread among animals and has marveled and intrigued generations of scientists. Today, thanks to research in a small number of animal species, we have a greater understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of regeneration. However, fundamental questions remain unanswered, such as: Why can some species regenerate body parts while others cannot? Is there a genetic and gene regulatory toolkit for regeneration? My long-term research aims at exploiting the diversity of animal life to understand how regeneration evolves and to identify conserved and derived mechanisms of regeneration. Answers to these questions will have broad implications for both basic science and regenerative medicine. To this end, my research combines emerging research organisms such as lungfish and bichirs, as well as more established research systems such as axolotl and zebrafish to identify shared cellular and molecular components of regeneration. We have been developing and utilizing a broad range of traditional tools for the comparative study of regeneration. Studying the multi-layered processes that trigger regeneration in a comparative framework will help us identify shared molecular and cellular programs of interest to regenerative medicine and understand how and why regeneration evolves.