Alistair Boettiger

I am a postdoc in Xiaowei Zhuang’s group at Harvard studying gene regulation in Drosophila through super-resolution microscopy approaches.   I’m interested in mechanisms of gene regulation that have evolved in metazoa to facilitate the transition to coordinated, robust, multicellular life.  My research has focused on integrating high-resolution molecular imaging of gene expression and precise transgenic modifications of regulatory machinery.  Recent improvements in computer vision algorithms and computer processing power allow us to get large amounts of detailed quantitative data from whole-embryo gene expression analysis.  New technologies to make precise manipulations in large DNA sequences (20-200 kilobases) and to integrate these sequences into targeted genomic landing sites, allows for specific testing of the functional roles of different regulatory sequences.  Combined, these measurements and manipulations will allow us to develop predictive, quantitative models to understand the intricate elaborations of gene regulation that have allowed the evolution of complex, multicellular organisms.