MOLECULAR BASIS OF SMOOTH MUSCLE DIFFERENTIATION

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My short-term goals are to develop my laboratory into a highly productive scientific environment which utilizes current molecular approaches to investigate questions of normal and abnormal embryogenesis. My long-term goals are to become a preeminent scientist in the field of developmental biology and significantly expand our current understanding of the processes involved in normal and abnormal embryonic development. The long-term objective of our research is to determine the developmental signals necessary for the normal differentiation and maturation of smooth muscle cells. We plan to investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for smooth muscle development by determining the factors necessary for the normal expression of the gamma-smooth muscle isoactin gene during the differentiation and maturation of gastrointestinal smooth muscle cells in vitro and in vivo. Studies include the expansion of my current research plan to include more detailed studies of the neurotrophic effects of sympathetic ganglia on smooth muscle development, and an analysis of the factors responsible for the normal development of smooth muscle cells in transgenic mice.