Semmelweis University, Molecular Medicine PhD School
Embryology, Theoretical, Experimental and Clinical Developmental Biology PhD program (7/3)
Coordinator: Dr. Nándor Nagy
Embryology has both theoretical and clinical relevance in medical education. The former involves the understanding of the regulation of developmental mechanisms at the molecular level (induction, transcription factors, homeobox genes, etc.) and hence the interpretation of the development of congenital malformations, and the latter involves the possible prevention or correction of the development of these malformations. Embryology uses the methods of physiology, genetics, immunology and morphology and, with the integration of molecular genetics into embryology, the discipline of developmental biology is of great relevance.
The PhD program was originally based on developmental biology of the lympho-myeloid system, including the origin of dendritic cells in the central and peripheral lymphatic organs, but now also includes nerve, muscle, heart and limb development. It also covers the differentiation of retinal photoreceptors, the expression of visual pigments and the relationship between the corpus pineale and photoreception. Since the functioning of signal transduction mechanisms cannot be interpreted without the phenomenon of endocytosis, the receptor-ligand relationship and endocytosis is also at the subject of research.
Methods used in the program: routine histological techniques (paraffin and semi-thin sections, electron microscopy), immunocytochemistry, fluorescence techniques, confocal microscopy, in vitro cell and tissue culture, monoclonal antibody production, hybridoma cloning, chemical purification of supernatants, Western blotting, embryo manipulation techniques (ablation and transplantation), chicken-quail chimerism and parabiosis , pharmacological effects on embryogenesis.