Welcome to the Somorjai Lab!
We are interested in studying development in a comparative evolutionary context, with particular reference to chordates. We use the cephalochordate amphioxus as our main study species due to its relative genomic and morphological simplicity, and its phylogenetic position basal to the vertebrates. The main thrust of the lab’s research is currently in developing amphioxus as a model system for regeneration studies. Understanding the diversity of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying regeneration of complex structures has important implications for biomedicine. However, we are also interested in basic questions in developmental biology and evolution: how is morphological diversity generated, what signalling pathways and cellular behaviours are involved, and when did novelties arise?