Christina Brakken-Thal

Research Interests:

The Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) / Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP) signaling pathway is a conserved pathway used in all animals for development and hemeostasis. In the model system Drosophila melanogaster the specification of the dorsal suface is controlled by Decapentaplegic (DPP), a BMP protein that robustly stimulates the TGF-β signaling pathway in a narrow strip of cells on the dorsal surface of the embryo. The levels of Dpp are estimated to be in the few hundred to few thousand range in the entire embryo. Based on our current understanding of the signaling pathways, we would predict that there would be significant level of noise in Dpp signaling. However, this is not observed, so there must be mechanisms that dampen noise in signaling pathways. I am using molecular biology, genetics, live cell imaging, and mathematical modeling to study the dynamics of BMP signaling during early development and how the embryo deals with noise due to environmental fluctuations and low levels of signaling molecules.