UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

M O L E C U L A R & C O M P U TAT I O NA L B I O LO G Y
COLLOQUIUM SERIES & CHALK TALK

Margarida Cardoso
Moreira, PhD
Evolutionary Biologist
University of Heidelberg
will present on

“Origins and evolution of

organs”

Abstract:
My research centers on understanding the genetic and
developmental bases of organ evolution. For the past few years, I
have been leading a research program aimed at understanding
Thursday,
Friday, January 10, 2020 the evolution of mammalian organs. By comparing the
February 13th, 2020
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
10:30 am to 11:30 am developmental gene expression programs that give rise to
different organs across multiple species, I was able to identify
Ray R. Irani Hall
Ray1050
R. Irani
ChildsHall
Way, RRI 101 genes, types of mutations, and developmental processes that
LosChilds
1050 Angeles, CA RRI
Way, 90089-2910
101 underlie the evolution of the main mammalian organs. My future
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2910 work will use the placenta, an extremely diverse organ that has
originated multiple times across vertebrates, as a model system
For additional information, in which to ask the questions of how organs originate and how
contact: they diversify across species. I will focus on one of the most
fascinating aspects of pregnancy, the mother’s tolerance to the
Ian Ehrenreich,
intimate contact between its own cells and those of her fetus,
ehrenrei@usc.edu
and study how immunotolerance is achieved in humans and
Uluwehi Baldmor across diverse mammals. I will also address the question of how
baldmore@usc.edu to create a new organ by studying the repeated and independent
evolution of placentas in a clade of fishes.