Beyond the First 21 Days: The Center for Organogenesis
To learn how cells work together to form organs in a developing embryo, U-M researchers had to learn to work together, also. Understanding all the complexities of organ and tissue formation is beyond the scope of any one scientist. So, 14 years ago, Deborah Gumucio, Ph.D., a professor of cell and developmental biology, wrote a proposal that would bring developmental biologists together as part of the Center for Organogenesis.
Established in 1995, the center now includes 93 faculty members and many more graduate students and post-doctoral fellows working in six research areas, including stem cells, early embryogenesis, tissue and organ formation and maintenance, abnormal organ development, and artificial organ systems.
Scientists affiliated with the center tend to focus on one signaling pathway or the development of one or two organ systems. Some focus on just one species, such as fruit flies or zebra fish, while others compare organ development across several species. But in every case, researchers are trying to identify the specific genes involved in an organ’s development, figure out exactly what those genes do, and look for ways to repair organs that have been damaged by genetic mutations or disease.
For the last nine years, the Center for Organogenesis has received a National Institutes of Health training grant to support clinical scientists conducting research on how organ diseases can be caused by something going wrong during embryonic development.
Today, Michigan has one of the most comprehensive and highly regarded organogenesis research programs in the United States, according to Gumucio. “No place else has such a wide range of people working at this level,” she says. “It’s amazing what can happen when you put the right people together and get them talking.” —SP