简介

Our major research focus is on chemical signaling pathways that regulate developmental processes and behaviors. Discovery of the epitracheal endocrine system in insects and its secretory product, the ecdysis-triggering hormone (ETH), has revealed new insights into the endocrinology of ecdysis, the crucial stage through which insects must pass repeatedly during development from embryo to adult. ETH triggers a series of complex centrally patterned motor behaviors leading to ecdysis and thus provides an excellent model system for examining the relationships between gene expression, development, and animal behavior. More recent research is revealing functional roles for ETH in regulation of adult behaviors.