Emily Walker Graduate Student Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy
B.S. University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2008
Faculty Advisor: Michele Battle, PhD
Mailing Address: Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy 8701 Watertown Plank Road Milwaukee, WI 53226-3548 USA
Phone: (414) 955-4135 FAX: (414) 955-6517 Email: edykstra@mcw.edu
Research Area: GATA transcription factors and intestinal development
I received my Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Nebraska and decided to attend MCW after having a great experience in the Summer Program for Undergraduate Research. However, I was unsure as to what area of research I wanted to study. After four lab rotations through the Interdisciplinary Program, I discovered I enjoyed studying development and joined the Battle lab. My project in the lab focuses on the study of intestinal development and the transcription factors involved concentrating on GATA4 and GATA6. Using conditional knockout animals, we are able to look at embryonic development of the intestine and begin to determine what role these transcription factors play in regulating the expression of different gene products and the mechanisms of interactions with signaling pathways. Understanding exactly what controls development of the cells that form the intestine could one day lead to the ability to generate tissue to replace damaged or diseased intestine.