Developmental Disorders (DD)

In a developmental disorder, the growth of a structure is arrested, delayed, or misdirected early in embryonic life with a permanent effect. The frequency of these types of disorders is not to be underestimated; a major anomaly is apparent at birth in 3 to 4% of newborns while up to 7.5% of children manifest a congenital defect by age 5.

The main focus of this area is to study the molecular basis of development and developmental anomalies, advancing our understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms at the basis of human development and of inherited birth defects.
The research projects in this programme share the developing embryo as the main “tool” and the use of common experimental approaches such as transgenic mouse models (knock-outs, knock-ins and conditional knock-outs), organotypic cultures and primary cell cultures. The curriculum in the DD programme focuses on the use of genetic approaches to understand developmental mechanisms and to study diverse developmental processes such as pattern formation, cell determination, cell lineage, cell-cell interactions and ciliary function.