University of Southern Maine

office: 305A Science
phone: 207-228-8349
lab: 207-228-8348
fax: 207-228-8116
champlin@maine.edu 

Lab pages: http://www.usm.maine.edu/~champlin/research.htm
Course pages: http://www.usm.maine.edu/~champlin/courseW.htm

My research and teaching interests emphasize the exciting advances modern biology is making toward understanding how animals develop. The field of developmental biology includes the study of the steps leading from fertilization to the formation of a fully-grown ani! mal or plant. Until recently the field was called embryology because much of the emphasis is on embryogenesis. But developmental biology reaches far beyond the embryo. For example, it also includes the study of cancer (development gone awry), stem cells, and the reproductive cycles of plants and animals.

In my lab, we use insect metamorphosis as a model to help understand the roles that hormones play in regulating development. The researchers that get the experiments done include graduate students, undergraduates, and high school students. We focus in particular on examining the molecular mechanisms by which hormones regulate gene expression. For example, one of the hormones that controls metamorphosis is steroid called ecdysteroid. The protein receptor for ecdysteroid is a transcription factor that functions to directly regulate gene transcription and it does so in a manner very similar to how steroid hormo! nes operate in humans. We have found that during early steps i! n metamo rphosis, low levels of ecdysteroid activate expression of genes involved in growth and patterning of the adult tissues. A current goal of the lab is to determine the molecular mechanism by which ecdysteroid controls cell proliferation. The methods we employ include analysis of gene expression, as well as a variety of immunohistochemical methods for microscopy.

Insect metamorphosis, and developmental biology in general, fascinate people of all ages and backgrounds. I strongly welcome anyone who is interested in these topics to visit my lab web pages and to visit us in the lab.