Research in Dr Chow's lab centers on a broad spectrum of developmental questions including determination of body pattern, organ assembly, regulation of morphogenesis, chemosensory control of mating behavior.
Dr Chow uses Caenorhabditis elegans as a primary genetic model to examine how differentiation of body shape and sensory organs are controlled by multiple genetic components acting in the BMP signaling pathway and a network of transcription factors dictating cell differentiation events. Regulators of the signaling event are of particular interest. Both biochemical and genetic approaches are adopted to dissect these functions and their molecular mode of operation, which is also evaluated in cell culture and other animal models to confirm their biological significance.
The completion of organogenesis is followed by the forming of specific organ morphology and the wiring of neural network. The nematode sensory rays and cephalic neurons are used as the experimental paradigms for studying the establishment of form and shape of organs as well as their cellular connectivity. Currently, a handful of genetic components are actively being characterized. These genes encode products that represent molecular cascades controlling proper matrix organization, paracrine signaling, cell shape determination, and cell adhesion that eventually determine the functionality of male-specific sensory organs in worm for both locating the mating partner and executing the stereotyped mating behavior.
More info: http://life-sci.ust.hk/faculty/Prof.Chow/
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