H. Robert Horvitz

My research interests are the molecular, developmental, and behavioral genetics of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans; use of mutants and molecular biology to analyze the genetic control of cell lineage, cell fate, cell signaling, and cell death, with some emphasis on nervous system development; the study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control animal behavior (locomotion and egg laying), including the regulation of muscle contraction and the function of serotoninergic neurons; and human molecular genetics, with focus on the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.