eberhart@mail.utexas.edu

      I obtained my B.A. degrees in Biology and Psychology at Bethel College in North Newton, KS. While I had a thirst for knowledge in all areas of Biology and Psychology, it was my Developmental Biology class that inspired me the most. “How is a complex organism generated from a single cell” is a fascinating question that has continually driven my research. 
      For my M.S. and Ph.D research, I explored the mechanisms that govern development of the nervous system. At Wichita State University, where I obtained my M.S. under the mentorship of John Schmidt, I analyzed the role of members of the cadherin family of cell-cell adhesion molecules in the development of the murine brain. While a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri at Columbia working in Catherine Krull’s laboratory, I determined the roles of Eph/ephrin signaling molecules in motor axon guidance in the chicken hind limb. Through my graduate training I gained a deep appreciation of the signaling and cell behaviors involved in development.
      As I moved on to my post-doc I wanted to combine genetics with imaging to finely dissect the effects of signaling interactions on the cellular behaviors underlying morphogenesis. I entered Charles Kimmel’s lab where a focus of my work was directly imaging neural crest cell behaviors in living wild-type and mutant zebrafish embryos. This direct imaging of morphogenesis provides deep understanding of both normal development and how development can go awry in disease.
      In my lab, we continue to analyze crest cell behavior in zebrafish.  Looking not only into the signaling pathways involved in cell behaviors but also the genetic and environmental modifiers mediating these behaviors.

Alternate Bios:

Jedi Master Johann

Jo-Johann