Thesiss

Ciliated mechanoreceptors, such as our inner ear hair cells, receive vibrational and touch input from an animal’s surroundings and direct that information into the their brain via neuronal transmission. In ascidians, the vertebrates’ closest extant relatives, ciliated mechanorec…

Embryonic development is complex, dynamic, and dependent on environmental factors. Mechanisms of sensing and integrating environmental stimuli are diverse, and understanding these mechanisms in extant species can elucidate how complex phenotypes emerge from genomic information e…