Associate Professor Yasu Kawakami

Sall4 encodes a transcription factor, and is essential for early mammalian development. These researchers aim to identify its function at the molecular and genetic levels. They are performing RNA Seq, ChIP Seq, ATAC-Seq, and single cell RNA-Seq using wild type mouse embryos and embryos in which Sall4 function is abrogated.

The group is also interested in functions of several transcription factors, including ISL1, PLZF, IRX3, IRX5. Their mouse genetics experiments strongly suggest that these genes functionally interact to regulate specific developmental processes. The researchers plan to do similar genomics experiments to determine their functions in developing mouse embryos.