Faculty Profile

Fields of Study

Cell cycle control

Areas of Focus

Cell Biology
Development

Research Interest

We study how the cell cycle is regulated to speed up, slow down or stop cell proliferation at the right places and times during development.

About Laura Buttitta

Assistant Professor Laura Buttitta will be joining the department in January 2011.

 Laura obtained her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2004. She then joined Dr. Bruce Edgar’s lab as a postdoc at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. There she began using Drosophila as a model system to study cell cycle regulation. Laura’s future lab will study how the cell cycle is shut off in quiescent cells, such as differentiated or stem cells, using both Drosophila and mammalian cell systems.

Publications

L. Buttitta, A.J. Katzaroff, B.A. Edgar (2010). "A robust cell cycle control mechanism limits E2F-induced proliferation of terminally differentiated cells in vivo." Journal of Cell Biology vol. 189, 981-96. Read Publication.

L. Buttitta and B.A. Edgar (2007). "How size is controlled: From Hippos to Yorkies." Nature Cell Biology Vol. 9, 1225-1227. Read Publication.

L. Buttitta and B.A. Edgar (2007). " Mechanisms coordinating cell cycle exit and terminal differentiation." Current Opinion in Cell Biology Vol. 19, 697-704. Read Publication.

L. Buttitta, A.J. Katzaroff, C. Perez, A. De la Cruz, B.A. Edgar (2007). "A double-assurance mechanism controls cell cycle exit upon terminal differentiation in Drosophila." Developmental Cell Vol. 12, 631-643. Read Publication.

L. Buttitta, R. Mo, C.C. Hui and C.M. Fan (2003). "Interplays of GLI transcription factors and their requirement in mediating SHH-dependent sclerotome induction." Development Vol. 130, 6233-6243. Read Publication.

L. Buttitta, T.S. Tanaka, A. Chen, M.S.H. Ko and C.M. Fan (2003). "Microarray analysis of somitogenesis reveals novel targets of different WNT signaling pathways in the somitic mesoderm." Developmental Biology Vol. 258, 91-104. Read Publication.

C.S. Lee, L. Buttitta and C.M. Fan (2001). "Evidence that the WNT-inducible growth arrest specific gene 1 encodes an antagonist of sonic hedgehog signaling in the somite." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 98, 11347-11352. Read Publication.

C. S. Lee, L. Buttitta, N. May, A. Kispert and C.M. Fan (2000). "SHH-N upregulates Sfrp2 to mediate its competitive interaction with WNT1 and WNT4 in the somitic mesoderm." Development Vol. 127, 109-118. Read Publication.