For more than a decade, the focus of the Developmental Genomics Section has been to develop techniques for high-throughput testing of gene function in vivo, using zebrafish as a vertebrate model system. Much of the lab effort revolves around systematically inactivating genes by mutation to see the resulting effect on the animal (i.e. the phenotype).
The Burgess group has subsequently developed a pipeline for large-scale, targeted knockout of zebrafish genes. They are applying this knockout pipeline to a variety of questions important to understanding aspects of both fundamental biological processes and to the causes of rare human genetic diseases. The primary focus of the lab is on tissue regeneration, primarily for hearing but extending to any form of injury repair. We also collborate with clinical researchers to make zebrafish models for human neurological disorders, deafness, inflammatory diseases and other rare genetic abnormalities. We are also systematically disrupting cell-signaling pathways such as the receptor tyrosine kinases or hypoxia related responses to understand these fundamental processes. The ultimate goal of the Developmental Genomics Section is to identify an in vivo function for every gene in the vertebrate genome.
