Welcome to the Nelson Lab

Our lab integrates genetics, molecular, and cell biology to learn how unstable repetitive regions of the genome are maintained. We are interested in understanding how these unstable regions may change over time, particularly during aging and as genomes are passed from generation to generation, and what effect these changes have on biology. We are particularly fascinated by an intriguing role for a retrotransposon - considered a "genomic parasite" - to maintain an essential unstable part of the genome called the ribosomal DNA. Our lab uses the testis of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster  to ask these question, which allows for rapid, simple experimentation combined with precise genetic and molecular tools.

The Drosophila testis

Drosophila chromosomes

Germline stem cells

Drosophila ribosomal DNA mutant