Jessica Smith
Post-doc
jsmith[at]mcb[dot]harvard[dot]edu
Research Areas:
Patterning
Our lab has identified a number of transcription factors that act in the C-lineage during early embryogenesis. I am studying the physical interactions between these transcription factors to better understand the topology of the C-lineage transcription factor network and determine how the localized activity of a single master regulator (PAL-1) is sufficient to promote tissue and cell-fate specification within this lineage.
RNAi
One curious feature of RNAi in C. elegans is the ability of silencing to spread systemically throughout the animal, regardless of its point of entry. I am studying the spread of silencing between tissues, using an endogenous hairpin as the source of double-stranded RNA. I am particularly interested in the nature of the silencing signal and how this signal is exported from the tissue in which the hairpin is expressed. I am currently working to identify new factors involved in this process.