Rebecca Lyczak

Professor of Biology

Rebecca Lyczak earned her Ph.D in Cell and Developmental Biology from Weill Cornell Medical College and her B.S. in Biology and Education from The College of New Jersey. She did postdoctoral work at the University of Oregon. Members of the Lyczak laboratory study a fundamental question of developmental biology - how does a single cell develop into a complex organism? Using C. elegans as a model, she uses genetic techniques to study the proteins involved in establishment of the anterior-posterior body axis in the one-cell embryo as well as regulation of the cell cycle. Her work has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Department

Biology

Degrees

B.S. College of New Jersey
Ph.D., Cornell University

Teaching

Genetics Human Molecular Genetics Developmental Biology Common Intellectual Experience

Research Interests

Role of the centrosome in polarity establishment Role of the PAM-1 aminopeptidase in development and cell cycle regulation Mapping and identification of pam-1 suppressors

Recent Work

Benton, D., Jaeger, E., Kilner, A., Kimble, A., Lowry, J., Schleicher, E., Power, K., Uibel, D., Eisele, C.* Bowerman, B. and Lyczak, R. (2021) Interactions between the WEE-1.3 kinase and the PAM-1 aminopeptidase in oocyte maturation and the early C. elegans embryo. G3: 11(4). DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab063

Saturno, D. M., Castanzo, D. T., Williams, M., Parikh, D. A.* Jaeger, E., and Lyczak, R. (2017) Sustained centrosome-cortical contact ensures robust polarization of the one-cell C. elegans embryo. Developmental Biology 422,135-145. DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.12.025

Fortin, S.M., Marshall, S.L., Jaeger, E.C., Greene, P.E., Brady, L.K., Isaac, R.E., Schrandt, J.E., Brooks, D.R., and Lyczak R. (2010) The PAM-1 aminopeptidase regulates centrosome positioning to ensure anterior-posterior axis specification in one-cell C. elegans embryos. Developmental Biology 344, 992-1000. DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2010.06.016

Lyczak R., Zweier, L., Group, T., Murrow, M.A., Snyder, C., Kulovitz, L., Beatty, A., Smith, K., Bowerman, B. (2006)The puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase PAM-1 is required for meiotic exit and anteroposterior polarity in the one-cell Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. Development 133, 4281-4292. DOI: 10.1242/dev.02615

In my research lab, we are interested in understanding what genes control early embryonic development and regulation of the cell cycle. We use a combination of genetic approaches with time-lapse imaging of early cell divisions to uncover the role for different genes during development.

Rebecca Lyczak