Drummond-Barbosa Lab
Principal Investigator: Daniela Drummond-Barbosa
Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison (Madison, WI)
Primary Subfield: Genetics/Genomics
Recruitment Status: ✅ Accepting PhD Students
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY Adult multicellular organisms have complex metabolic regulation and physiological responses, and they rely on small populations of tissue stem cells to produce various differentiated cell types that maintain the integrity and function of their organs. The Drosophila ovary is a powerful model for the study of stem cell physiology and metabolism in vivo. Each ovariole houses two-or-three germline stem cells (GSCs) and two follicle stem cells (FSCs), which support the production of egg chambers composed of a 16-cell germline cyst (one oocyte and 15 nurse cells) surrounded by follicle cells to form mature oocytes. Work from my group has delineated the physiological control of these tissue stem cell lineages. We showed that GSCs and their progeny grow and divide faster on nutrient-rich compared to poor diets, and that brain insulin-like peptides, Target of Rapamycin, AMP-dependent kinase, the steroid hormone ecdysone, and adipocyte and muscle factors mediate this response. Recent studies by other groups strongly suggest that the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids play key roles in regulating tissue stem cell fate decisions. For example, the metabolism of pyruvate (pro…
Active NIH Awards
- 2R35GM140857-06: Metabolism and physiology of tissue stem cell lineages in the Drosophila ovary. (2026)
- 5R35GM140857-05: Nutrient fuel preference, obesity, and stem cell lineage physiology (2025)
- 5R35GM140857-04: Nutrient fuel preference, obesity, and stem cell lineage physiology (2024)
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