Nick's Research Interests

My name is Nick Testa and I am a first year Zoology/EEBB Ph.D. student in Alex Shingleton's lab. I am primarily interested in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and the interactions of genetics and developmental processes on evolution (although my interests are generally much broader). Currently, I am working on a project to elucidate the developmental mechanisms behind sexual size dimorphism (SSD). It is currently unknown which mechanisms interact (and how) to create the size difference seen between the sexes in Drosophila (I know this sounds vague, but if you are interested, just ask me about it and I can elaborate). Also, I am working on a couple of other projects involving coordinated organ growth. The idea is basically that each organ coordinates its growth with the rest during development (i.e. if you damage one organ, the rest slow their growth to allow it to catch up, keeping all organs the same size).