To elucidate how defective brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling in the brain leads to diminished appetite control and the emergence of affective disorders.
My ultimate goal is to follow the breadcrumbs and hopefully discover something fundamentally conserved about immune regulation across multiple organ systems.
Research in my laboratory is focused primarily on pattern formation - the developmental processes that determine the morphological features and cell types of tissues, organs and entire organisms.