Howard Sirotkin attended the University of Florida from 1987 to 1991 and was awarded a B.S. degree in Microbiology in 1991. He attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1991 to 1996 and received an M.S. in Molecular Genetics in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics in 1996 and was a postdoctoral fellow from 1996 to 1997. He continued his postdoctoral studies at New York University’s School of Medicine from 1997 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2001 was a postdoctoral fellow in Developmental Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He became an assistant professor of Neurobiology & Behavior at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2002, and in 2008 was promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure.
Research
In the long studied, but poorly understood process of embryonic development, a single cell divides and differentiates to form the multitude of cell types found in a mature organism. The research in Dr. Sirotkin's laboratory is directed toward elucidating the signaling interactions that induce and pattern the three germ layers and the mechanisms that govern proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells and progenitors. These processes generate the diverse cell types found within the nervous system. The laboratory utilizes the zebrafish as a model organism. Several attributes make the zebrafish an ideal system for this analysis: embryos are transparent which allows for observations of cells in vivo, development occurs external to the mother which facilitates cellular manipulations (transplants and gain/loss of function assays) and most importantly, it is a powerful genetic system. Because all vertebrates share fundamental similarities in the organization of their body plans, understanding the genetic networks that control zebrafish neural development will provide important insights into development of other species including humans.
Selected Publications
- Londin, E.R., Mentzer, L., Gates, K.P., and Sirotkin, H.I., (2007). Expression and regulation of the zinc finger transcription factor Churchill during zebrafish development. Gene Expr Patterns 7(6):645-50.
- Kok, F., Oster, E., Mentzer, L., Hsieh, J.C., Henry, C and Sirotkin, H.I., (2007). The role of the Spt6 chromatin remodeling factor in zebrafish embryogenesis. Dev Biol. 307(2):214-26.
- Londin, E.R., Mentzer, L. and Sirotkin, H.I., (2007) Churchill regulates cell movement and mesoderm specification by repressing Nodal signaling. BMC Dev Bio.7:120.
- Bell, M. A., Ellis, K. E., and Sirotkin, H. I. (2007) Variation of pelvic limb reduction and Pitx1 expression among threespine stickleback populations. Tinkering: the microevolution of development. Wiley, Chichester. Novartis Symposium 284, 225-244.
- Londin, E.R., Niemiec, J. and Sirotkin, H.I., (2005). Chordin, FGF signaling, and mesodermal factors cooperate in zebrafish neural induction. Dev Biol. 279(1):1-19.
- Gleason, M.R., Armisen, R., Verdecia, M.A., Sirotkin, H., Brehm, P., Mandel, G. (2004). A mutation in serca underlies motility dysfunction in accordion zebrafish. Dev Biol. 15;276(2):441-51.
- Levkowitz, G, Zeller, J , Sirotkin, H.I, Schilbach, S, Hashimoto, H, Hibi, H, Talbot, W.S. and Rosenthal, A. (2003). Zinc finger protein too few controls the development of monoaminergic neurons. Nat Neurosci. 6:28-33.
- Sirotkin, H.I., Gates, M.A., Kelly, P. A., Schier, A.F., and Talbot, W.S. (2000). fast1 is required for the development of dorsal axial structures in zebrafish. Current Biology 10, 1051-1054.
- Sirotkin, H. I., Dougan, S.T., Schier, A.F. and Talbot, W.S. (2000). bozozok and squint act in parallel to specify dorsal mesoderm and anterior neuroectoderm. Development : 127:2583-2592.
- Fekany, K., Yamanaka, Y., Leung, T., Sirotkin, H.I., Topczewski, J., Gates, M.A., Hibi, M., Renucci, A., Stemple, D., Radbill, A., Schier, A.F., Driever, W., Hirano, T., Talbot, W.S. and Solnica-Krezel, L. (1999). The zebrafish bozozok locus encodes the homeodomain protein Dharma and is sufficient in the extraembryonic yolk syncytial layer for gastrula organizer formation. Development 126:1427-38.
- Feldman, B., Gates, M.A., Egan, E.S., Dougan, S.T., Rennebeck, G., Sirotkin, H.I., Schier, A.F., and Talbot, W.S. (1998). Zebrafish organizer development and germ-layer formation require nodal-related signals. Nature 395: 181-185
Pubmed Linked Publications
Laboratory personnel:
- Keith Gates- Graduate Student
- Fatma Kok - Graduate Student
- Andrew Taibi - Research Technician
- Fady Abdelsayed- Undergraduate Student
- Heena Rana - Undergraduate Student
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