A-Z Index | myUMBC | Calendar | Class Schedule | Directory | Maps
UMBC An Honors University in Maryland
UMBC Biological Sciences
Contact Information

Location: BS 103
Phone: 410-455-6322

Projects
Brewster Group
Research Description
Section through the zebrafish neural tube labeled with the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP, green) and a neural marker (pink).
Section through the zebrafish neural tube labeled with the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP, green) and a neural marker (pink).

Section through the zebrafish neural tube labeled with anti-beta-tubulin, a marker for mictotubules (green).
Section through the zebrafish neural tube labeled with anti-beta-tubulin, a marker for mictotubules (green).

Research in the Brewster laboratory centers on the general question of how the neural tube, the precursor of the Central Nervous System (which comprises the brain and the spinal cord), is assembled during early embryogenesis. Neural tube defects are the most common severeley disabling birth defects in the United Staes, with a frequency of approximately 1 in every 2000 births. In additional to this clinical relevance, studies on neural tube formation offer the opportunity to explore fundamental questions at the interface of Cell and Developmental Biology.

The Brewster laboratory uses the zebrafish to investigate mechanisms of neural tube development, as this model system lends itself well to experimental manipulation, visualization of cell behaviors and gene discovery. We have focused on understanding: (1) the cellular basis of neurulation (the dynamic rearrangements of neural precursor cells over time to shape the neural tube); (2) the role of cell-cell interactions in neural and mesodermal development and (3) the regulation of cell polarity during neurulation.
UMBC Department of Biological Sciences • 410-455-2261 • Contact Us • Site Information • myBioSci
© 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County • 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 • 410-455-1000