I joined the lab in Fall 2012 and I have been working with Angela Kaczmarczyk on investigating the cellular mechanisms involved in regeneration of the germline in Parhyale hawaiensis. The germline stem cell niche holds a potential important role in this mechanism; however, the niche has not been carefully studied. I have generated RNA probes and performed whole-mount in situ hybridization on Parhyale hawaiensis ovaries and testes to help characterize this germ line stem cell niche. Currently, I am working on identifying potential gene expression differences, by testing candidate germline or pluripotent markers, at different oocyte developmental stages.
I was born in México and raised in the Central Valley, and I amnow a graduating senior at Berkeley with a major in Integrative Biology and a minor in Chicano Studies. I have a strong interest in languages and cultures, especially those of Latin America. Research will allow me to conduct fieldwork in this area and study evolutionary processes in the Amazonian rainforest for example. I also enjoy the outdoors and devote my leisure time hiking, camping or getting some reading done at Tilden Regional Park. I complete my undergraduate studies this year and will be attending graduate school in the Fall 2013. I plan on taking an integrative approach to my future research projects by incorporating my past phytogeography trainings with my recent Evo-Devo interests and connecting these evolutionary questions to ecology (Evo-Devo-Eco). I am interested in studying the molecular mechanisms responsible for creating novel developmental forms and functions and the practical evolutionary application of these traits to an organism’s ecological niche.
For Jose’s resume, click AndradeCV