Robustness in developmental systems: how early development buffers genetic and environmental variation

越来越清楚的是，存在大量的遗传和环境变异，发育中的生物体必须缓冲以产生稳健的表型。了解这种缓冲机制所涉及的分子遗传机制对于完全理解在发育过程中形状、形式和比例是如何产生的是必要的。通过整合微流体技术、高通量成像和人工选择，我的研究项目使用一种创新的方法来研究体内基因表达变异和功能是如何被调节的，从而在基因型、环境或两者兼有的情况下产生稳健的表型。这项研究将为我们了解生物是如何在一个有活力的生物的现实背景下健壮地发育提供见解，并将提高我们对自然环境受到干扰时影响生物适应的因素的理解。

It is becoming clear that there exists abundant genetic and environmental variation that the developing organism must buffer against to produce a robust phenotype. Understanding the molecular genetic mechanisms that are involved in this buffering mechanism are necessary for a complete understanding of how shape, form, and proportion are generated during development. By integrating microfluidics technology, high throughput imaging, and artificial selection, my research program uses an innovative approach to studying in vivo how gene expression variation and function is regulated to produce a robust phenotype in spite of variation in the genotype, the environment, or both. This research will provide insight into how organisms develop robustly in the realistic context of a viable organism, and will improve our understanding of the factors affecting adaptation of organisms when their natural environment is perturbed.