Professional Summary
I use transcriptomics, in situ hybridization and RNAi technology to test to what extent developmental pathways known from Drosophila eye development underlie the generation of the extraordinary larval eyes of the beetle Thermonectus marmoratus. This work is exciting because it allows me to determine which developmental features are fundamental to eye development and to identify how common genetic pathways are tweaked by evolution to give rise to functionally different organizations.
Advisor: Dr. Buschbeck