Dylan Faltine-Gonzalez is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Integrative Biology program.

top: Ph.D. Candidate, Dylan Faltine-Gonzalez bottom: A transgenic line showing different neuronal cell types in an adult Nematostella polyp.

Dylan received his Bachelor of Science in marine biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He then joined Dr. Mark Martindale’s lab where he characterized opsin expression patterns within Nematostella vectensis. It was here that he was first introduced to developmental biology, Nematostella as a model species, and his future PI, Dr. Michael Layden. Dylan further pursued his interest in developmental biology as a member of the society for developmental biology’s CHOOSE development program which allowed him to work in Dr. Alex Joyner’s lab. There he studied how the long bones of mice were able to regulate their growth so that they end up symmetric in length. It was after these experiences that he decided to go to graduate school. Dr. Layden contacted Dylan informing him that he has a lab at Lehigh University looking at the evolution of central nervous systems, and Dylan joined the Layden lab at Lehigh University in 2015.

The Layden lab is broadly interested in understanding nervous system evolution using the cnidarian model, Nematostella vectensis. One question they are investigating is how did bilaterians evolve complex central nervous systems? Cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones, corals, etc.) all possess a nerve net like nervous system, and they are the sister taxa to the bilaterians (mammals, insects, worms, etc.). It is classically believed that the cnidarian-bilaterian ancestor likely possessed a nerve net like nervous system similar to those found in cnidarians. By investigating how Nematostella forms its nerve net the Layden lab can identify conserved and unique patterning programs present in cnidarians and bilaterians. If both cnidarians and bilaterians possess these patterning mechanisms then researchers can hypothesize that the cnidarian-bilaterian also possessed these same patterning mechanisms. This allows researchers to build a hypothetical ancestor, which allows researchers to better understand what unique patterning mechanisms must have evolved in bilaterians and therefore potentially contributed to central nervous system evolution.

Bilaterians use multiple mechanisms to pattern their central nervous system. Two of these are the utilization of specific progenitors that give rise to a subset of neuronal subtypes and the other is utilizing spatial patterning genes to pattern spatially restricted neuronal subtypes. The combination of these two patterning mechanisms allows bilaterians to control the number, type, and location of specific neuronal subtypes during development. Dylan’s research focuses on identifying these two bilaterian mechanisms of neuronal patterning found within cnidarians. Dylan uses genetic techniques such as microinjection of shRNA and mRNA to manipulate genes of interest coupled with molecular techniques such as in situ hybridization and qPCR to analyze the resulting changes in gene expression.

Dylan was the president of the Biological Organization of Graduate Students (BOGS). During his term as president he, along with his fellow executive members, organized monthly department workshops demonstrating the skill sets of the department faculty and postdocs specifically in areas that are not covered in their graduate education. He also attempts to make his research accessible to undergraduates and has mentored several students during his time in the Layden lab.
During Dylan’s free time he enjoys hiking with his dog, board games, exploring restaurants and bars around the Lehigh Valley, as well as cooking and baking.

Research in the Layden Lab is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.