David Sprinzak's Hompage
I'm a Post-doctoral fellow in the Elowitz Lab.
The lab belongs to the Division of Biology and Department of Applied physics at California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
This is my CV.
Research interests
During development, cells differentiate into well-defined patterns through an orchestrated
program in space and time. This requires a combination of intercellular signaling, enabling cells to
coordinate their differentiation, and intracellular genetic circuits, allowing the cells to process external
signals. While much is known about the components involved in developmental patterning (signaling
molecules, genes, and proteins), it remains unclear how these components combine as genetic circuits
to generate patterns. My long term research goal is to understand how developmental programs are
encoded and executed by the underlying genetic circuit within each cell. I will pursue this goal by
specifically addressing the following questions: What is the relationship between circuit architecture and
the developmental patterns formed? How do the properties of the signaling system (and other
components) affect the patterning processes? How is cell morphology controlled or affected by the
developmental processes?
Addressing these questions is difficult due to the complexity of natural developmental circuits
and the technical difficulties in probing spatiotemporal signals in developing embryos. Recent advances
in genetic engineering and microscopy now permit an alternative approach: Instead of studying
complex natural genetic circuits in the developing embryo, we can use similar genes to construct
synthetic patterning circuits in cultured cells, and study their ability to generate patterns. More
specifically, genes encoding intercellular signaling proteins and gene regulatory proteins are introduced
into cells that do not ordinarily express these genes or generate patterns. We can then compare
different circuit designs as well as study the dependence of pattern formation and its dynamics on rates
of expression and other parameters of the system. The controlled and quantitative nature of this
synthetic developmental approach can be combined with mathematical modeling and compared to
actual developmental systems to provide a systems-level understanding of actual and potential pattern
formation circuits.
This Synthetic developmental patterning platform is general and can be applied to many
developmental questions. I will initially apply this approach to the study of Notch-dependent
developmental patterns by addressing the following specific aims:
(1) Determine the requirements and constraints in the formation of Notch mediated fine grained
patterns such as lateral inhibition patterns and sharp boundaries.
(2) Measure Notch signaling dynamics at the single cell and subcellular levels.
(3) Examine the role of cell/tissue morphology and cell proliferation in Notch-dependent pattern
formation.
Publications
- Cis interactions between Notch and Delta generate mutually exclusive signaling states, D. Sprinzak, A. Lakhanpal, L. LeBon, L. A. Santat, M. E. Fontes, G. A. Anderson, J. Garcia-Ojalvo, M. B. Elowitz, under review in Nature.
- Reconstruction of genetic circuits, D. Sprinzak and M. Elowitz, Nature 438(7067), 443-8 (2005) Review.
- Scanning electron microscopy of cells and tissues under fully hydrated conditions, S. Thiberge, A. Nechushtan, D. Sprinzak, O. Gileadi,V. Behar, O. Zik,Y. Chowers, S. Michaeli, J. Schlessinger, E. Moses, Proc Natl Acad Sci 101(10), 3346 (2004).
- An electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Y. Ji, Y. Chung, D. Sprinzak, M. Heiblum, D. Mahalu, H. Shtrikman. Nature 422(6930): 415-8 (2003).
- Charge Distribution in a Kondo-Correlated Quantum Dot, D. Sprinzak, Yang Ji, M. Heiblum, D. Mahalu, and Hadas Shtrikman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 176805 (2002).
- Phase Evolution in a Kondo-Correlated System, Yang Ji, M. Heiblum, D. Sprinzak, D. Mahalu, and Hadas Shtrikman, Science 290: 779-783
- Controlled Dephasing of Electrons via a Phase Sensitive Detector, D. Sprinzak, E. Buks, M. Heiblum, H. Shtrikman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5820 (2000)
- Correlations between Ground and Excited State Spectra of a Quantum Dot, D. R. Stewart, D. Sprinzak, C. M. Marcus, C. I. Duruoz, J. S. Harris Jr., Science 278, 1784(1997).
- Ballistic Transport of Holes and Phonon Replicas in lightly doped GaAs, D. Sprinzak, M. Heiblum, H. Shtrikman, Phys. Rev. B 55, R10185-10188 (1995).
- Crossover from two-dimensional to three-dimensional magnetic structure in Pr1.5Ce0.5Sr2GaCu2O9, I. Felner, D. Sprinzak, U. Asaf, and T. Kroner, Phys. Rev. B 51, 3120-3127 (1995).
Contact Information
David Sprinzak
Email address: davidsp at caltech.edu
Caltech MC114-96
1200 E. California Blvd.
Pasadena CA 91125
office: 626-395-5813
Fax: 626-395-5972