Michael Thomas Marr

In my lab we use a combination of modern molecular genetic techniques such as RNAi, CRISPR/cas9 and transgenics as well as biochemical techniques such as protein purification and in vitro reconstitution assays. We combine both genomic approaches based on modern deep sequencing techniques with detailed biochemical analysis in the hopes of understanding the molecular mechanisms and broad systems level integration. In these investigations we use a combination of model systems to capitalize on the major advantages of each system. We primarily use mammalian cells (mouse, rat and human) and Drosophila (cells and animals) as our systems. My lab is focused on investigating how an animal cell responds to developmental and environmental signals and how this response is manifested in changes in gene expression. The developmental, metabolic, and environmental signals a cell receives induce changes in both RNA and protein synthesis. Most recently the lab has focused on the control of gene expression and the response to cellular stress through the FOXO family of transcription factors.