The creation of a functional heart requires the coordinated action of genes that direct cells to assemble into a complex, three-dimensional organ having a characteristic size, shape, and physiological properties. Although it is widely accepted that the heart is one of the first organs to form, the early events during cardiac development when the heart field is initially created remain unclear and are thus the focus of recent research. Where do the cells that will ultimately create a beating heart come from? How does a cell know it should become a cardiac cell? What are the biological consequences of creating a heart field that is either too large or too small? Because the initial steps necessary to create a functional heart are poorly understood, these questions await a detailed understanding at the molecular, genetic, and biochemical levels. Therefore, interdisciplinary approaches will be used to gain a detailed understanding of the cellular signals that control the development of the embryonic heart. This project is designed to elucidate the role of Notch signaling during the early stages of heart development: the specification and prepatterning of the cardiac mesoderm. A direct benefit of this work will be the characterization of novel molecular mechanisms needed to create the embryonic heart. Understanding how identified molecules direct the creation of heart tissue allows us to gain important insights into designing therapeutics that can be used to treat various cardiac defects, thereby allowing people with cardiac abnormalities to live fuller lives. Moreover, the impact of this work extends to the study of other systems because techniques developed in the course of this research facilitate the manipulation of gene activity during specific stages of organ formation. These novel embryological techniques and approaches will be taught directly to members of the lab, and will be published and presented at scientific meetings to help disseminate valuable ideas to the scientific community that can form the basis of future work. In addition, results obtained from this research will not only be important for researchers, but as part of out-reach programs to introduce students and K-12 science educators to the methodologies and practices used to conduct novel research projects. By integrating research and education, advances in science can be taken to new levels as future generations of researchers are brought one step closer to becoming independent investigators.
