Affiliation: University of the District of Columbia

Dr. Samuel T. Waters holds a PhD degree in Microbiology from the University of Virginia and a BS degree in Environmental Health from San Diego State University. His research focuses on a class of homeobox genes, Gbx1 and Gbx2 which encode DNA-binding transcription factors dynamically expressed in the developing central nervous system. He is particularly interested in understanding how these transcription factors regulate the assembly of functional sensorimotor circuits underlying motor behavior, such as suckling and walking by defining positional value and cell specification to neural crest-derived cells and neuronal populations. His major experimental approach is to study the disruption of normal development in animal models that carry loss-of-function alleles. Recent studies from his laboratory have demonstrated a stringent requirement for Gbx2 in regulating the expression of genes required for normal migration and survival of cranial neural crest cells contributing to development of cranial nerve V, and the ability of Gbx2^neo mutant mice to suckle.