Toettcher Lab
Principal Investigator: Jared E Toettcher
Institution: Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Toettcher laboratory seeks to understand how intracellular signaling pathways are organized and control outcomes such as gene expression, differentiation to specific fates and cell/tissue movement. To do so, we use innovative tools from synthetic biology: biosensors to measure pathway activity, optogenetics to control intracellular processes, and synthetic gene circuits to record and store information about each cell’s state. In recent years, we have developed new biosensors for endogenous receptor tyrosine kinases, constructed synthetic gene circuits for recording cells’ signaling states, and expanded the optogenetic toolbox by developing tools for light-controlled protein phase separation, gene expression, RNA degradation, and protein binding. We always seek to pair new tool development with applications in cell signaling and developmental biology. This approach has been fruitful, and our recent studies have shed light on how developmental signaling patterns are interpreted in early Drosophila embryo, how the body axis is established in 3D organoid models of mammalian embryogenesis, and how ERK signaling dynamics are regulated in cultured mammalian ce…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R35GM164185-01: Optogenetics and biosensors for dissecting cellular decision-making (2026)
- 5R01GM144362-04: A new class of biosensors for detecting signaling dynamics without live-cell microscopy (2025)
- 5R01GM144362-03: A new class of biosensors for detecting signaling dynamics without live-cell microscopy (2024)
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