Active Research Projects
The Control of Transcription Factor Specificity and Activity
We study how transcription factors bind to the correct DNA sequences and regulate the correct target genes in vivo, with a focus on the Hox family of homeodomain proteins.
Motor Neuron Development and Circuitry
We are studying how the neural circuitry that is required for coordinated walking in adult flies is constructed during development, and how it functions in the adult.
Recent Publication

Cell-type-specific Hox regulatory strategies orchestrate tissue identity
News
A genomics perspective on the famous four-winged fly
In the 1950s and 1960s, Ed Lewis of Caltech discovered the homeodomain encoding genes we now refer to as the Hox genes. One of the most famous mutants that Lewis described is a mutant of the Hox gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) where the third thoracic (T3) segment of the fly, which normally has a small pair of balancing appendages called halteres, is entirely transformed into a second copy of the second thoracic (T2) segment, with a complete pair of extra wings and second thoracic notum.
Ross Munce passes Qual exam
He survived Struhl, Hobert, and Lomvardas.
Welcome Nadeera
The Mann lab welcomes new postdoc Nadeera Wickramasinghe, who just started this past week. Nadeera did her PhD at Mt. Sinai, NYC, in the laboratory of Dr. Nicole Dubois. Nadeera "met" and decided to come to the lab with only virtual information, so it was especially fun to meet her in person this week!
Photos

Neuropils of the Drosophila VNC

Dendrites and cell bodies of a pair of tarsal depressor motor neurons

Image from Manntastic event, June 14, 2019
