Zeba Wunderlich, Ph.D. Associate Professor (Department of Biology, BME)
Education PhD, Harvard University, BiophysicsPrimary Appointment Department of Biology
Areas of Interest Regulatory DNA encodes the gene regulatory networks that are required for virtually every process in an animal, from development to immunity. The Wunderlich lab is interested in understanding how a gene regulatory network’s tasks influence its architecture, robustness, and evolvability. To probe these questions, we use two model systems: the Drosophila early embryonic patterning system and the Drosophila innate immune response. In both systems, we pair imaging-based and genomic measurements of gene expression with statistical and physically based computational models to explore questions of gene regulatory network function. We exploit naturally occurring sequence variation between individuals and species as a tool to measure how changes in regulatory DNA affect transcriptional regulation.
Publications
Research Areas regulation of gene expression; design principles of enhancers; systems biology; developmental biology; innate immunology
Honors and Awards • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) 2025
Additional Affiliations Department of Biomedical Engineering
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