Abstract
Gastrulation has been said to be "the most important event in your life" (Lewis Wolpert c. 1980) because it is during this time that the three main layers of cells are set up and that the body axis is established, and when many cells first become committed to their fates. Moreover, until the start of gastrulation, embryos can still give rise either to a single or to multiple individuals (twins). This reveals not only “pluripotency” of fates, but an even more striking potential of the embryo to self-organize into a complete organism. This can be viewed as an extreme case of regeneration: parts of the embryo can regenerate the entire body and form another individual. But then, what mechanisms prevent this during normal development? The speaker will review some recent progress in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that coordinate fate, polarity, cell movements and pattern in the embryo and which also regulate twinning.
About the speaker
Prof Claudio Stern received his PhD in Developmental Biology from University of Sussex in 1978. He was University Demonstrator at Department Of Anatomy of University of Cambridge from 1984 to 1985, Lecturer at University of Oxford from 1985 to 1994, and Professor and Chairman of Genetics and Development in Columbia University from 1994 to 2001. He joined the University College London (UCL) in 2001, and was Head of Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology until 2007, then Head of Cell and Developmental Biology from 2007 to 2011. He is currently J. Z. Young Professor and Chair of the UCL Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine.
Prof Stern’s current research focuses on the processes that establish cell diversity and pattern in the early embryo. He researches on how cells in the embryo adopt at the right positions and at the right time, and the mechanisms that ensure the correct proportions of cells allocated to different organs.
Prof Stern is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Institute of Biology, the Latin-American Academy of Sciences, and is a Member of European Molecular Biology Organization. In 2006 he was awarded the prestigious Waddington Medal from the British Society for Developmental Biology.
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