After my wonderful 38-year journey as a professor at Indiana University and then at the University of California Santa Cruz, I joined the ranks of emeritus faculty in Summer 2022.  An overview of my lab’s research is below and on the Research page, and our papers are listed and linked on the Publications page.  - Susan Strome

Germ cells (the cells that give rise to eggs and sperm) have special properties that enable them to serve their crucial role in development.  The immortality and totipotency of the germ lineage allow germ cells to be passed from generation to generation and to produce all of the diverse cell types of the body in each generation.  The Strome Lab investigated the molecular mechanisms by which germ cells establish their identity and maintain their health and survival, using the model organism C. elegans.  We mainly focused on the roles of two types of maternally provided regulators required for the fertility of offspring:  germline-specific ribonucleoprotein organelles called P granules and the MES chromatin regulators.