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Janet L. Vaglia Ph.D.
Area of Specialty: Developmental biology, cell biology, anatomy & morphology Courses Taught: Human Biology (Bio 104) Research Interests: My research bridges the areas of Developmental Biology and Evolution. I am interested in questions that address how shifts in developmental processes might eventually lead to evolutionary change. As a developmental biologist I have studied development at various levels, from anatomical to cell and molecular. My lab is currently interested in exploring how some vertebrate organisms, such as salamanders, are able to continually elongate the body axis throughout their life cycle. Continual elongation of the body axis is the exception, rather than the norm amongst vertebrates. To address this very intriguing developmental pattern, we have started at the beginning by investigating how the body axis extends in various salamander species. Because it appears that most of the elongation is specific to the tail tip, we are also looking at the cellular patterning of the tail for further insight on how such a process is ongoing through life. And lastly, we are exploring how Hox gene expression may play a role in tail elongation. Correct expression of Hox genes is crucial to making a body axis that is defined by different regions of specialized vertebrae. A question we are excited to ask is how might Hox gene expression change, or shift, in an organism that does not stop its axial growth, but that also has the ability to regenerate.
Research projects:
Publications: Vaglia, J.L. and K.K. Smith. (2003). Early differentiation and migration of cranial neural crest in the opossum, Monodelphis domestica. Evolution & Development, 5(2): 121-135. Vaglia, J.L. and B.K. Hall. (2000). Patterns of migration and regulation of trunk neural crest cells in zebrafish (Danio rerio). International Journal of Developmental Biology, 44: 867-881. Vaglia, J.L. and B.K. Hall. (1999). Regulation of neural crest cell populations: occurrence, distribution and underlying mechanisms. International Journal of Developmental Biology, Miyake, T., J.L. Vaglia and B.K. Hall. (1999). Development of dermal denticles in skates (Chondrichthyes, Batoidea): patterning and cellular differentiation. Journal of Morphology, 241: 61-81. Vaglia, J.L., R.N. Harris and S.K. Babcock. (1997). Tail development and regeneration throughout the life cycle of the four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum). Journal of Morphology, 233: 15-29.
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