Dasgupta Lab

Developmental Toxicology

Clemson University

Our lab studies developmental toxicity of environmental chemicals using zebrafish as a model.

We use high-content screening, multi-omics strategies and reverse genetics to understand molecular dynamics underlying adverse effects to developmental exposures. Our emphasis is studying neurodevelopment and diet x toxicant interactions. We are specifically interested in understanding role of micro RNA and methylome as regulators of gene expression changes. Strategies include:

High content screening: We conduct embryonic zebrafish screening in a 96-well plate format for toxicant profiling and identification. Screening readouts include mortality, morphological abnormalities and behavioral screening using a Viewpoint Zebrabox
Multi-omics: We conduct -omics-based studies (transcriptomics, metabolomics, methylomics) to discover pathways and gene products that are impacted by developmental exposures at various stages of development
Gene editing and reverse genetics: We conduct gene editing and reverse genetics-based approaches in order to understand functions of specific gene products
Behavioral assays: Along with our screening pipeline, we also conduct targeted behavioral assays for both larval and adult zebrafish