Uebbing lab

Complex organisms like mammals undergo highly orchestrated developmental processes to generate the many different cell and tissue types that make up their bodies. In such complex systems, modifications in gene expression programs are an important mechanism of evolutionary change. Enhancers, distal cis-regulatory elements, are thought to play a particularly important role by exerting spatiotemporal gene expression control. The Uebbing lab studies evolutionary change in gene expression across diverse mammals with a particular interest in enhancer sequences. We are interested in uncovering gene expression differences related to lineage-specific traits, and in identifying the genetic basis to these modifications. We focus particularly on effects of genetic variation on enhancer activity and on the effects of enhancer evolution on gene expression programs. We explore these questions using computational genomics and high-throughput functional genomic screens in cellular model systems. Learn here more about our ongoing research questions and about our published work.