Biology
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Dr. Laura Allison Romano
B.S. in Biology from College of William and Mary, 1993
See full resume [pdf] |
Academic Positions
Teaching at Denison
Research
Transcription is regulated by non-coding sequences known as cis-regulatory elements that are usually located upstream of the protein-coding sequence, but may be located downstream of the protein-coding sequence or even within an intron. Proteins known as transcription factors interact with these cis-regulatory elements to specify the level, timing, and spatial expression of genes. Changes in the sequence of cis-regulatory elements, or the activity of transcription factors that interact with them, can have functional consequences during development. In fact, such changes are hypothesized to be the primary basis for differences in the anatomy, physiology, and behavior of organisms (including disease susceptibility in humans).
My research utilizes the sea urchin as a model system to explore the functional consequence of changes in genes and their cis-regulatory elements with regard to protein-binding affinity, patterns of gene expression in the embryo, and/or phenotype. Most recently, my lab has focused on the extent to which there is variation in the cis-regulatory region of SM50 in the "purple urchin" and several closely related species. This gene is essential for development of the larval skeleton and its transcriptional regulation has already been characterized to a considerable extent. We are now extending our study to additional genes as well as more distantly related species such as the "pencil urchin" in an attempt to identify the molecular basis of differences in the origin and behavior of skeleton-forming cells during development.
Many undergraduate students have worked in my laboratory at Denison including Cecilia Murch ('09), Sadie Orlowski ('09), Ashley Dunkle ('08), Katie Merva ('08), Kyle Thaman ('08), Elaine Binkley ('07), Jenna Walters ('07), Laura Cannon ('05), and Nik Kiehl ('05). They have been supported by the Anderson Endowment, the Bowen Endowment, the Laura C. Harris Fund, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Office of Provost.
In the following list of research papers, an asterisk (*) denotes a co-author who is an undergraduate student at Denison.
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