Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy Medical College of Wisconsin 8701 Watertown Plank Road Milwaukee, WI 53226-0509
Phone: (414) 955-8474 FAX: (414) 955-6517 E-mail: bolender@mcw.edu
Education: PhD, West Virginia University, 1974
Graduate Program: Program in Cell and Developmental Biology
Research Area: Tissue interactions in embryonic heart development/curriculum development
Development is driven by interactions between cells of different lineages and between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix. Using the heart as a model, we are interested in identifying the mechanisms necessary for organizing the various precursor tissues, e.g., endothelial and myocardial into a functional heart. Some of the key factors mediating these events are growth factors such as members of the FGF and TGFB families. Currently we are characterizing the effects of exogenous administration of these growth factors on heart development.
Understanding the dynamics of human development is a challenge for many medical students, especially with the time constraints placed on this area of the medical curriculum. Current efforts in curriculum design are focused on creating animated sequences of various phases of human development. These will be combined with clinical scenarios to create self-study modules for studying normal and abnormal development. We are also creating a set of microscope slides which will encourage integration between histology and pathology. Each slide will contain sections of normal and diseased tissue. The slide set will be used in both courses.