Contact Info
Office: 301.405.5202
Lab: 301.405.7377
Fax: 301.314.9358
Office Address: 2272 Biology-Psychology Bldg
William Jeffery
Distinguished University Professor
Affiliate Professor of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
Teaching
Developmental Biology
Developmental Genetics
Graduate Program Affiliations
- BISI-Molecular & Cellular Biology (MOCB)
- BISI-Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics (BEES)
Research Interests
I am interested in the evolution of development. Several different animals are used in my research. The teleost Astyanax mexicanus is a single species with eyed surface dwelling and blind cave dwelling forms. I want to understand the developmental and evolutionary mechanisms responsible for phenotypic changes in Astyanax cavefish. I am also interested in the ancestry of the neural crest and regeneration in chordates. For this research I use sea squirts (ascidians), especially Ciona intestinalis, which has a completely sequenced genome.
Awards
- Fellow, AAAS
- Fellow, Linnean Society
- Honorary Member, Saint Petersburg (Russia) Society of Naturalists
- 2010, Karst Waters Institute Research Award
- 2012 Alexander Kowalevsky Medal
- 2018, National Speleological Society Science Award
- 2021, CMNS Board of Visitors Distinguished Faculty Award
Education
Ph.D., Biology, University of Iowa, 1971. Evolution of developmental mechanisms in chordates.
