Megan Martik

Megan Martik is an Assistant Professor of Genetics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Department of BIO. Her research focuses on the neural crest, a multipotent stem cell population in the embryo capable of differentiating into diverse derivatives such as cardiomyocytes, craniofacial skeleton, and the peripheral nervous system. Martik's work explores the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that govern neural crest development, including their role in cardiac differentiation, adult tissue regeneration, and evolutionary diversification. Her research also investigates the dysregulation of these networks in neural crest-derived cancers such as neuroblastoma. Martik uses model organisms like zebrafish and the sea lamprey to study these processes.

Megan Martik is an Assistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying developmental processes, particularly in the context of gene regulatory networks. Martik's work explores how these networks drive the diversification of neural crest cells, tissue regeneration, and evolutionary changes in developmental pathways. Her studies span vertebrates and invertebrates, including sea urchins and lampreys, to uncover the genetic basis of developmental innovations and evolutionary transitions. By integrating comparative developmental transcriptomics and functional genomics, she investigates how gene regulatory networks are rewired during key developmental events and evolutionary shifts.