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About the P.I.

Dr. James M. Cheverud

My major teaching effort is in Human Gross Anatomy at the Washington University School of Medicine. I also periodically teach a course in quantitative genetics and evolution.

My research centers on evolutionary quantitative genetics and morphology. The research in quantitative genetics concerns the development and genetic constraints imposed on the rate and direction of evolution by heritable variation patterns and the evolution of genetic variation patterns themselves. Current and planned future projects in this area involve both empirical and theoretical studies of the evolution of genetic correlations, maternal effects and kin selection, the genetics of somatic growth, the inheritance of brain surface morphology, and the heritability, genetic correlation and evolution of primate craniofacial morphology. We are currently studying the morphological genetics and systematics of New World Monkey species, specifically tamarins and marmosets. This study involves the reconstruction of selection acting on craniofacial morphology. The tamarins and marmosets include several endangered species and we are developing a quantitative genetic approach to captive population genetic surveys and management.

Projects

• Genetic Architecture and Evolution
• Primate Systematics and Morphological Integration
• Mouse Gene Mapping: Bone, Obesity, and Leptin
• Developmental Genetics of Long Bone Growth
• Dietary Obesity and Diabetes
• Genetic Correlates of Schizophrenia in the Mouse
• Genetics of Growth
• Genetics of t-AML Cancer in the Mouse
• Craniofacial Genes and Human Evolution
• LG/J by SM/J Mouse Intercross Populations
• Parent of Origin Effects: Maternal Effects and Genomic Imprinting
• Genetics of Wound Healing

Genetics of Wound Healing

We have established that adult MRL mice show unique regenerative responses. These include 1) the closure of through-and-through ear holes, 2) the re-growth of cartilage and hair follicles, and 3) the healing of heart tissue after a cryoinjury to the right ventricle without scarring, with the near full replacement of cardiomyocytes, and with return to normal heart function. We have also demonstrated that the ear hole closure phenotype is controlled by multiple genetic loci, behaves as a true quantitative trait, and is profoundly influenced by sex.

We will identify the genes that regulate healing in these mouse strains, using a combination of linkage mapping and gene expression profiling. The inbred MRL mouse strain derives from the LG mouse strain, which to date is the only other mouse strain shown to have this regenerative capacity. A panel of recombinant inbred (RI) lines and an Advanced Intercross Line (AIL) between LG/J (large) and SM/J (small) mice has been constructed. We are examining their ability to regenerate, to explore the full range of their healing phenotypes, and to map the regeneration genes in this MRL progenitor.

Collaborators

Dr. Ellen Heber-Katz, Wistar Institute.

Dr. Libby Blankenhorn, Drexel University

Grant Funding

Supported by NIGMS grant GM073226