Dr. Gavis's research bridges the disciplines of RNA biology and developmental biology; post-transcriptional gene regulation in Drosophila development. Her lab is particularly interested in how RNA granules assemble and how they regulate cell fate and function. The Gavis lab discovered the unique mode of interaction of Glorund, an RNA-binding protein, which bind and repress the translation of mislocalized mRNAs that should localize at the posterior of the egg. 

Dr. Wieschaus's work identified highly conserved molecular pathways that regulate morphology, patterning, and differentiation. Recent work from the Wieschaus lab focuses on cell shape and pattern changes during cellularization and gastrulation through changes in cellular cytoskeletal components. Additionally, the Wieschaus lab employs biophysical quantitative approaches to measure complex morphogen gradients and establishment of patterning.

Hugo Bellen's research interests include (1) neuronal communication and maintenance, (2) development of tools to control transcript and protein levels in adult neurons to assess which proteins are required for neuronal function and survival, and (3) the creation of genome-wide libraries to manipulate genes in vivo. 

 Terry Orr-Weaver investigates the mechanisms that control the sequence of events during which a cell duplicates its DNA and divides in two. Studies in the Orr-Weaver lab have illuminated fundamental aspects of this process, known as the cell cycle, and shed new light on a broad range of diseases caused by breakdowns in cell division, including cancer and certain birth defects.

Denise Montell's lab has recently discovered a surprising reversibility of the cell suicide process known as apoptosis. The Montell lab is testing the hypothesis that the ability of cells to return from the brink of death – anastasis - serves to salvage cells that are difficult to replace such as heart muscle cells or neurons in the adult brain.