Marcos Simoes-Costa

Email: marcos@hms.harvard.edu

Research Summary:

Multicellular organisms are formed by a large number of cell types, which serve as the components of tissues and organs. In the Simoes-Costa Lab, we study how cellular diversity arises during vertebrate embryonic development. We employ systems-level approaches to decode the molecular programs that drive changes in cell identity. Our research group is particularly interested in how gene regulatory networks operate in space to generate complex arrangements of cells. 

Gene regulatory networks in embryonic development: Cellular diversity arises from the establishment of distinct molecular states in stem cell populations. We study how gene regulatory networks are able to transform cell identity to generate specialized tissues. Our model of choice is an ectodermal stem cell population known as the neural crest. Neural crest cells are able to migrate throughout the developing embryo to give rise to neurons, pigment cells, and skeletal cells.

The spatial control of cell fate commitment: Tissues and organs have complex tridimensional structures, and their assembly relies upon the precise placement of cell types in space. As a result, differentiation must be coupled with the extracellular signals that pattern the early embryo. We are investigating how environmental information is processed by the genome to ensure cells differentiate at the right time and place.

Reactivation of developmental gene circuits in cancers: Occasionally, development gene circuits that should be silenced during differentiation are abnormally reactivated in adult cells. This may lead to the re-emergence of embryonic behaviors and initiate malignant transformation. We study the biology of ectodermal cancers to understand how stem cell identity is coopted during tumorigenesis and metastasis.