Worley Lab
Principal Investigator: Melanie I. Worley
Institution: University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Accepting PhD Students ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
Project Abstract Regenerative abilities vary significantly both between different species and between distinct tissues of a given species. Despite recent advances, many fundamental questions persist regarding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern effective tissue regeneration. This research program strives to uncover the genes and gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that operate within individual cells during distinct phases of regeneration. For regeneration to occur, surviving cells need to launch a response that promotes localized cellular reprogramming, proliferation, and tissue repatterning to replace what was lost. This investigation will shed light on how tissue regeneration is orchestrated by determining the genes and GRNs that trigger a regenerative response, support regenerative growth, and ultimately reestablish proper cell fates in the newly generated tissue. The work focuses on tissue regeneration in the powerful genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster in combination with state-of-the-art single-cell technologies. Many crucial processes during regeneration occur in small subpopulations of cells, the study of which has been revolutionized by single-cell te…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35GM155091-03: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Regenerative Growth and Repatterning (2026)
- 5R35GM155091-02: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Regenerative Growth and Repatterning (2025)
- 1R35GM155091-01: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Regenerative Growth and Repatterning (2024)
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