Office hours: Tuesday, 10 – 11 a.m.

I am currently not accepting new requests for letters of recommendation.

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in how plants on a cell-to-cell level process external information that affects their development. More specifically, I want to understand how this information in the form of abiotic stresses such as heat or drought is interpreted on a genomic level at various stages of development. My research primarily focuses on understanding how this information is stored and encoded in the context of chromatin and 3-dimensional contacts of DNA and its associated proteins inside the nucleus so that plants “learn” how to adapt to recurring stress situations. In my lab, we use next-generation sequencing, plant physiological, genetic, molecular and cell biology approaches to tackle these questions. Especially in light of climate change, it will be important to understand how plants react to changing environmental conditions.

Publications

Chen H, Xiong F, Wangler AM, Bischoff T, Wang K, Miao Y, Slane D, Schwab R, Laux T, and Bayer M. Phosphorylation-Dependent Activation of the bHLH Transcription Factor ICE1/SCRM Promotes Polarization of the Arabidopsis Zygote. New Phytologist. 2025 Feb;245(3):1029-1039. doi: 10.1111/nph.20265. Epub 2024 Nov 14. PMID: 39543803.

Berendzen KW, Grefen Christopher, Sakamoto Takuya, and Slane D. Analysis of Chromatin Accessibility, Histone Modifications, and Transcriptional States in Specific Cell Types Using Flow Cytometry. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2023, 2698:57-73.

Sakamoto T, Sakamoto Y, Grob S, Slane D, Yamashita T, Ito N, Oko Y, Sugiyama T, Higaki T, Hasezawa S, Tanaka M, Matsui A, Seki M, Suzuki T, Grossniklaus U, and Matsunaga S. Two-step regulation of centromere distribution by condensin II and the nuclear envelope proteins. Nature Plants. 2022 Aug;8(8):940-953.

Slane D, Lee CH, Kolb M, Dent C, Miao Y, Franz-Wachtel M, Lau S, Maček B, Balasubramanian S, Bayer M, and Jürgens G. The integral spliceosomal component CWC15 is required for development in Arabidopsis. Scientific Reports. 2020 Aug 7;10(1):13336.

Smit ME, Llavata-Peris CI, Roosjen M, van Beijnum H, Novikova D, Levitsky V, Sevilem I, Roszak P, Slane D, Jürgens G, Mironova V, Brady SM, and Weijers D. Specification and regulation of vascular tissue identity in the Arabidopsis embryo. Development. 2020 Apr 20;147(8):dev186130.

Slane D, Berendzen KW, Witthöft J, and Jürgens G. Transcriptomic Profiling of the Arabidopsis Embryonic Epidermis Using FANS in Combination with RNAseq. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2020;2122:151-164.

Neu A, Eilbert E, Asseck LY, Slane D, Henschen A, Wang K, Bürgel P, Hildebrandt M, Musielak TJ, Kolb M, Lukowitz W, Grefen C, and Bayer M. Constitutive signaling activity of a receptor-associated protein links fertilization with embryonic patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019 Mar 19;116(12):5795-5804.

Wallmeroth N, Jeschke D, Slane D, Nägele J, Veerabagu M, Mira-Rodado V, and Berendzen KW. ARR22 overexpression can suppress plant Two-Component Regulatory Systems. PLoS ONE. 2019 Feb 11;14(2):e0212056.

Slane D, Reichardt I, El Kasmi F, Bayer M, and Jürgens G. Evolutionarily diverse SYP1 Qa-SNAREs jointly sustain pollen tube growth in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal. 2017 Nov;92(3):375-385.

Slane D, Bürgel P, and Bayer M. Staining and Clearing of Arabidopsis Reproductive Tissue for Imaging of Fluorescent Proteins. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2017;1669:87-94.

Slane D and Bayer M. Cell Type-Specific Gene Expression Profiling Using Fluorescence-Activated Nuclear Sorting. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2017;1629:27-35.

Bayer M, Slane D, and Jürgens G. Early plant embryogenesis-dark ages or dark matter? Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 2017 Feb;35:30-36.

Musielak TJ, Slane D, Liebig C, and Bayer M. A Versatile Optical Clearing Protocol for Deep Tissue Imaging of Fluorescent Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLoS ONE. 2016 Aug 12;11(8):e0161107.

Murphy E, Vu LD, Van den Broeck L, Lin Z, Ramakrishna P, van de Cotte B, Gaudinier A, Goh T, Slane D, Beeckman T, Inzé D, Brady SM, Fukaki H, De Smet I. RALFL34 regulates formative cell divisions in Arabidopsis pericycle during lateral root initiation. Journal of Experimental Botany. 2016 Aug;67(16):4863-4875.

Slane D, Kong J, Schmid M, Jürgens G, Bayer M. Profiling of embryonic nuclear vs. cellular RNA in Arabidopsis thaliana. Genomics Data. 2015 Apr 8;4:96-98.

Slane D, Kong J, Berendzen KW, Kilian J, Henschen A, Kolb M, Schmid M, Harter K, Mayer U, De Smet I, Bayer M, Jürgens G. Cell type-specific transcriptome analysis in the early Arabidopsis thaliana embryo. Development. 2014 Dec;141(24):4831-4840.

Lau S, Slane D, Herud O, Kong J, Jürgens G. Early Embryogenesis in Flowering Plants: Setting Up the Basic Body Pattern. Annual Review of Plant Biology. 2012;63:483-506.

Reichardt I, Slane D, El Kasmi F, Knöll C, Fuchs R, Mayer U, Lipka V, Jürgens G. Mechanisms of Functional Specificity Among Plasma-Membrane Syntaxins in Arabidopsis.��Traffic.��2011 Sep;12(9):1269-1280.

I am a Maine native, and grew up on a rural farm in the western mountains. I originally attended culinary arts school and after years of working in the food service industry, I decided to pursue my original interest – biology. I study how aging changes the brain and how those changes can predispose some people to develop neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. I use a wide variety of techniques to explore how some people’s protective genes are turned off during aging, and identified a new type of cell in the brain that only shows up in people at risk for neurological diseases.

Selected Publications

*Denotes Undergraduate Authors

Adams L, Song MK, Tanaka Y, Kim YS. Single-nuclei paired multiomic analysis of young, aged, and Parkinson’s disease human midbrain reveals age- and disease-associated glial changes and their contribution to Parkinson’s disease (Current under review). Preprint: doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.18.22269350.

Guhathakurta S, Adams L, Jeong I, Sivakumar A*, Cha M*, Bernardo Fiadeiro M*, Hu HN, Kim YS. Precise epigenomic editing with a SunTag-based modular epigenetic toolkit. Epigenetics. 2022 Aug 3:1-7. doi: 10.1080/15592294.2022.2106646.

Song MK, Adams L, Lee JH, Kim YS. NXP031 prevents dopaminergic neuronal loss and oxidative damage in the AAV-WT-α-synuclein mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. PLoS One. 2022 Jul 28;17(7):e0272085. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272085.

Jandy M, Noor A*, Nelson P*, Dennys CN, Karabinas IM*, Pestoni JC*, Singh GD*, Luc L*, Devyldere R, Perdomo N, Mitchell CE, Adams L, Fuse MA, Mendoza FA, Marean-Reardon CL, Mehl RA, Estevez AG, Franco MC. Peroxynitrite nitration of Tyr 56 in Hsp90 induces PC12 cell death through P2X7R-dependent PTEN activation. Redox Biol. 2022 Apr;50:102247. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2022.102247.

Guhathakurta S, Kim J, Adams L, Basu S, Song MK, Adler E*, Je G, Fiadeiro MB*, Kim YS. Targeted attenuation of elevated histone marks at SNCA alleviates α-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease. EMBO Mol Med. 2021 Feb 5;13(2):e12188. doi: 10.15252/emmm.202012188.

Basu S, Adams L, Guhathakurta S, Kim YS. A novel tool for monitoring endogenous alpha-synuclein transcription by NanoLuciferase tag insertion at the 3’end using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technique. Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 4;8:45883. doi: 10.1038/srep45883.

Adams L, Franco MC, Estevez AG. Reactive nitrogen species in cellular signaling. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2015 Jun;240(6):711-7. doi: 10.1177/1535370215581314.

Ph.D. Human Genetics, University of Houston

Research interests
My research is focused on studying the evolution of conserved gene regulatory networks. In my lab, we are particularly interested in how changes to genomes and gene regulatory networks have led to the diversity of animal forms and functions. We use marine and freshwater sponges as model systems to ask questions about the genetics and development of animal evolution and symbioses. Sponges are ancient animals that retain characteristics of an early and successful experiment in multicellularity while also sharing some highly conserved features (e.g., stem cells) and molecular blueprints with all other animals, including humans. These unique features provide a system where we can explore hypotheses about the evolution of all animals.

Student Research Opportunities
Research projects in my lab focus on the role of conserved developmental control genes and gene regulatory networks that are uniquely animal, but may have originated prior to the advent of adaptations such as nervous and immune systems, muscles, or eyes. We also study gene networks and the molecular linkages between intracellular algal symbionts and sponges as we try to understand how the host:symbiont interaction is important for animal development and function. ��Along these lines, some students also study the unique features of the symbiotic microalgae that inhabit sponge cells. We employ molecular, cellular, developmental, and functional genomic approaches and frequently collaborate with field biologists and computational scientists to address our questions. The research projects in my lab have implications for basic biomedical research as well as environmental and climate change studies.

Selected Publications

(*denotes student co-author)

A.L. Horton, H. Neighmond*, A. Neighmond*, R. Anderson*, M. Lessard, V. Price, S.P. Leys, A. Riesgo. (2026) Molecular and spatial integration of algal endosymbionts of the freshwater sponge, Ephydatia muelleri, throughout development in light and dark conditions. BMC Genomics. 27, 763. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-026-12618-w

R. Cassidy, L. de la Cruz, K. Mitsi, C. Galià-Camps, A. Benítez-López, C. Gracia-Sancha, J. Lorente-Sorolla, A. Álvarez, R. Mozo, S. Kolomyjec, S. Nichols, R. Manconi, R. Pereira, K. Evans, V. Itskovitch, A.L. Horton, S.P. Leys, S. Taboada, A. Riesgo. (2026) Genomic Connectivity and Adaptation Signals of the Freshwater Sponge Ephydatia muelleri across its distribution. Journal of Biogeography. 53:e70142.

C. Cevallos*, A.L. Leigh White*, B. Fazio*, L. Wendt, J. Feng, D. Posfai, A.L. Horton, J. Warrick, O.A. Quintero-Carmona. (2025) Transcriptomic Analysis of CAD Cell Differentiation. microPublication Biology. 10.17912.

S.P. Leys, L Grombacher, D. Field, V. Ho, G.R.D. Elliot, A.S. Kahn, P. Reid, A. Riesgo, E. Lanna, Y. Bobkov, J.F. Ryan, A.L. Horton. (2025) A Morphological Cell Atlas of the Freshwater Sponge, Ephydatia muelleri, with Key Insights from Targeted Single-Cell Transcriptomes. EvoDevo 16:1.

H. Neighmond*, A. Quinn*, B. Schmandt*, K. Ettinger*, A.L. Hill, L. Williams. (2023) Developmental Bisphenol S Toxicity in Two Freshwater Animal Models. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 104:104311..

M.S. Hill, B. Lawson, J.W. Cain, N. Rahman*, S. Toolsidass*, T. Wang*, S. Geraghty*, E. Raymundo*, A.L. Hill, (2023) Sustained Beneficial Infections: Priority Effects, Competition, and Specialization Drive Patterns of Association in Phototroph:Heterotroph Mutualisms. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11.

K. Hustus, K. Mitsi, J. Nutakki*, V. Kering*, I. Nguyen*, M. Gomes Spencer*, S.P. Leys, M.S. Hill, A. Riesgo, A.L. Hill (2023) Algal Symbionts of the Freshwater Sponge Ephydatia muelleri. Symbiosis. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-023-00934-8.

S. Jones, A. Blake, L. Corado-Santiago, J Crenshaw, E. Goldman, F. Gomez, C. Hall, H. Hoke, S. Holmes, B. Kornegay, P. Kwarteng, B. Lawson, M. Leber, G. Leconte, E. Modeste, K. Nolin, M. Norris, J. Santinni Roma, A. Swackhammer, M. Torres, J. Wares, D. Williams, A. Hill, K. Hoke, C. Parish, BD Pierce. (2023) A SMART Decade: Outcomes of an Integrated, Inclusive, First-Year College-Level STEM Curricular Innovation. Frontiers in Education 8:1152339. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1152339

S. Geraghty*, V. Koutsouveli, C. Hall, L. Chang*, O. Sacristan-Sorianob , M.S. Hill, A. Riesgo, A.L. Hill (2021) Establishment of host:algal endosymbioses: Genetic response to symbiont versus prey in a sponge host. Genome Biology and Evolution. 13: evab252..

C. Hall, S, Camilli, H. Dwaah, B. Kornegay, C. Lacy, M.S. Hill, A.L. Hill (2021) Freshwater sponge hosts and their green algae symbionts: a tractable model to understand intracellular symbiosis. PeerJ.��11:e10654. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10654

N.J. Kenny, W.R. Francis, R.E. Rivera-Vicéns, K. Jurval, A. de Mendoza, C. Díez-Vives, R. Lister, L. Bezares-Calderon, L. Grombacher, M. Roller, L.D. Barlow, S. Camilli*, J.F. Ryan, G. Wöheide, A.L. Hill, A. Riesgo, S.P. Leys (2020) Tracing animal genomic evolution with the chromosomal-level assembly of the freshwater sponge��Ephydatia muelleri. Nature Communications. 11: 3676. https://rdcu.be/b5ROn

C. Hall, M. Rodriguez*, J. Garcia*, D. Posfai*, R. Dumez*, E. Wictor*, O. Quintero, M. Hill, A. Rivera, A. Hill (2019) Secreted frizzled related protein is a target of PaxB and plays a role in aquiferous system development in the freshwater sponge,��Ephydatia muelleri. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0212005

O. Sacristán-Soriano, M. Winkler, P. Erwin, J. Weisz, O. Harriott, G. Heussler, E. Bauer, B. West Marsden*, A. Hill, M. Hill (2019) Ontogeny of symbiont community structure in two carotenoid-rich, viviparous marine sponges: comparison of microbiomes and analysis of culturable pigmented heterotrophic bacteria. Environmental Microbiology Reports.

P. Windsor-Reid, E. Matveev, A. McClymont, D. Posfai*, A. Hill, S.P. Leys (2018) Wnt signaling and polarity in freshwater�� sponges. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 18:12.

J. Cramer, D. Pohlmann*, F. Gomez, L. Mark*, B. Kornegay*, C. Hall*, N. Walavalkar, S. Bilinovich, J. Prokop, A. Hill, D. Williams (2017) Methylation specific targeting of a chromatin remodeling complex from sponges to humans.��Scientific Reports. 7:40674.

Q. Schenkelaars, O. Quintero, C. Hall*, L. Fierro-Constain, E. Renard, C. Borchiellini, A. Hill (2016) ROCK inhibition abolishes the establishment of the aquiferous system in��Ephydatia muelleri (Porifera, Demospongiae).��Developmental Biology. 412: 298-310.

Ph.D. Marine Evolutionary Ecology, University of Houston

Research interests
I am broadly interested in the evolutionary placement of sponges in the broader scope of metazoan history, and the role sponges and their symbionts play in the communities in which they reside. Research in my lab has focused on the phylogenetics of Porifera, ��the ecological role sponges play in their ecosystems, phenotypic plasticity and the genetic control of aspects of development, body size evolution, and interspecific interactions and how they are negotiated (especially in the realm of intracellular symbiosis). ��Some questions we pursue include: What unique features of sponges shed light on the earliest evolution of animals? How does one organism (the symbiont) end up residing within another (the host) and how are these interactions maintained through evolutionary time? How do two organisms with distinct evolutionary histories and trajectories coexist in intimate interactions? How does specialization evolve? We use marine and freshwater sponges as models and work in habitats ranging from tropical coral reefs to temperate streams in Maine. New work on cricoid mycorrhizal symbioses has also begun with a detailed microscopic analysis of the Diapensiaceae.

Student Research Opportunities
Research in my lab is trans-disciplinary and highly collaborative. We use a broad diversity of tools, but also partner with experts who have skills in many different areas. Our work involves the use of traditional field-based research as part of our ecological work, modeling approaches to understand symbiosis, and microscopy and molecular analyses to study a range of phenomena. While we have a strong focus on symbionts and sponges, we are also doing work with fungal partners associated with the roots of plants.

Evolution, Behavior, and Conservation Biology

My research asks why animals do the things they do, and how we can do a better job of mitigating our impacts on the natural world. Combining lab work with fieldwork on remote islands, I explore how evolution and human activity shape the genetics and behavior of animals, sometimes conveniently intersecting with my love of trail running and mountain adventures.. Recurring research themes include mate choice, parental investment strategies, population structure, and host-parasite evolution. Most of this work is with seabirds and songbirds.����I use a mix of lab methods (mainly genetics tools) and field methods.

My recent teaching at �ֲ���ý includes: Avian Biology,�� Genetics of Conservation Biology (BIES 333), Evolution and Interactions of Life (BIO 206), a Host-Parasite Evolution version of BIO 195, Biological Research Experience: Molecules to Ecosystems (BIO 204), and Advanced Topics in Evolution (BIO 355).

Selected Publications

Stratton JB*, Dearborn DC. 2021.�� Nest sanitation behavior does not increase the likelihood of parasitic egg rejection in herring gulls.�� Current Zoology 67:675-681.

Rand L*, Woodward C*, May R*, Ackerman RA*, Tweedie B*, Zicarelli TB*, Dearborn DC. 2019.�� Divergence between genes but limited allelic polymorphism in two MHC class II A genes in Leach’s storm-petrels��Oceanodroma leucorhoa.����Immunogenetics��71:561-573.

Tonelli B* and Dearborn DC. 2019.�� An individual-based model for the dispersal of��Ixodes��scapularis��by ovenbirds and wood thrushes during fall migration.����Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases��10:1096-1104.

Mauck RA, Dearborn DC, and Huntington CE.�� 2018. ��Annual Global Mean Temperature explains reproductive success in a marine vertebrate from 1955-2010.����Global Change Biology��24:1599-1613.

Dearborn DC, Kark S. 2010. Motivations for conserving urban biodiversity.����Conservation Biology��24:432-440.

* = �ֲ���ý student