WormBook

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WormBook is the online text companion to WormBase, the database for the genetics, genomics and biology of Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematodes. WormBook is a comprehensive, open-access collection of original, peer-reviewed chapters covering topics related to the biology of C. elegans and other nematodes. Wormbook also contains WormMethods, a collection of protocols for nematode researchers, and the Worm Breeder's Gazette, an informal, non-refereed, biannual newsletter for the interchange of ideas and information related to nematode research.

ISSN : 1551-8507

Editor-in-Chief

Martin Chalfie: University Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. He specializes in the molecular genetics of neuronal development and function in C. elegans, particularly the molecular basis of mechanosensory transduction and its modification. In addition, he introduced the use the GFP as a biological marker. Honors include election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a share of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. As editor-in-chief he is responsible for chairing and maintaining the editorial board. He also works with the editor on the organization and implementation of WormBook.

Editor

Jane Mendel: Senior Research Associate and Lecturer, Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology. Dr. Mendel has studied C. elegans in the laboratory of Paul Sternberg, specializing in the analysis of G-protein mediated signal transduction. She has also used C. elegans to teach a laboratory course in genetics. The editor works with the editor-in-chief, editorial board, authors and software development group to ensure the flow of text and information from the editorial board to final publication in WormBook, as well as coordinates WormBook's activities with WormBase and other databases. Dr. Mendel also edits The Worm Breeder’s Gazette.

Editorial Board

The WormBook Editorial Board works with the Editor-in-Chief and Editor to determine the content of WormBook, commission authors and contribute their expertise to the review of WormBook submissions.

Julie Ahringer: Senior Research Fellow at the Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge. Her laboratory carried out the first systematic inactivation of the majority of genes in an animal through constructing and screening a genome-wide RNA interference library for C. elegans. She uses molecular genetic and high-throughput genomic approaches to study the regulation of chromatin structure and function in transcriptional and post-transcriptional events. She was elected to EMBO in 2003, awarded the Royal Society’s Francis Crick Lecture Prize in 2004, and elected as a Fellow of the British Academy of Medical sciences in 2007.
Phillip Anderson: Professor of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He specializes in understanding nonsense mediated mRNA decay in C. elegans.
David Bird: William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, and Director of the NCSU Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University. The primary focus of his research group is to understand the mechanisms underlying parasitic interactions between nematodes and plants. In 1996, Professor Bird was named the Stoll-Stunkard Memorial Lecturer by the American Society of Parasitologists.
Monica Driscoll: Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University. Dr. Driscoll's research uses C. elegans as a model system to study developmental neurogenetics and the molecular genetics of neuronal function and dysfunction. Her laboratory addresses questions relating to mechanosensation, neurodegenerative cell death, and aging. She received The Ellison Medical Foundation 2004 Senior Scholar Award in Aging, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012.
Marie-Anne Felix: Professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris and Research Director at CNRS. She uses C. elegans to study developmental robustness and evolution, and also contributes to studies of natural populations of Caenorhabditis, including their interaction with natural pathogens. She co-organized the first Meeting on Evolutionary Biology of Caenorhabditis in 2006. Her honors and awards include election to EMBO Membership in 2010 and the Silver Medal from CNRS in 2012.
David H. A. Fitch: Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology, New York University. His research includes the study of systematics and taxonomy of Rhabditidae (Nematoda), evolution of morphogenesis, and molecular evolution. Awards include: 1995 NSF Career Development Award, 2000 Fulbright Fellowship.
Robin B. Gasser: Professor Gasser is head of a Molecular Parasitology laboratory at the University of Melbourne. His main focus has been on developing and employing molecular, genomic and bioinformatic technologies to investigate socio-economically important parasites, and develop diagnostic methods and new intervention strategies. His awards/prizes include the 2000 Bancroft Mackerras Medal, 2008 Fulbright Senior Scholarship, 2009 International WAAVP-Bayer Award for Research Excellence in Veterinary Parasitology, and the 2012 Alexander von Humboldt Professorial Research Prize. He is Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology (FASM, 2005) and Fellow of the Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP) (FASP, 2010), and President Elect of the ASP.
Iva S. Greenwald: Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and the Department of Genetics and Development, and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. She specializes in developmental genetics and Notch signaling in C. elegans. Awards and honors include election to the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other editorial experience includes 2001-2011 Editor, Development; 2008-present, Editorial Board, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).
Oliver Hobert: Professor and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center. The main focus of his laboratory is to understand the molecular mechanisms that generate the diversity of cell types in the nervous system, using C. elegans as a model. He serves on the Editorial board of numerous journals, is an associate editor of Neural Development and Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs): Developmental Biology, is a senior editor of Genetics, and is on the Board of Reviewing Editors of eLife. Professor Hobert is a Board member of the Society for Developmental Biology and is a member of the Genetics Society of America.
Jonathan Hodgkin: Professor of Genetics, Department of Biochemistry, at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the developmental and molecular genetics of the nematode C. elegans, with particular reference to nematode-bacterial interactions; sex determination, cell lineage and morphogenesis; informational suppression and gene interaction; telomere function; behavioral genetics and neurogenetics; natural variation; gene mapping; and genomics. He was an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1993-1997, and served as President of the Genetics Society of Great Britain from 2003-2006. Professor Hodgkin is a Fellow of the Royal Society (London).
Erik Jorgensen: Professor in the Department of Biology and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah. He specializes in the genetic analysis of neurotransmission and transposon biology in C. elegans. His awards include: 2003-2010 Jacob Javits Award, National Institute of Neuronal Disease and Stroke, NIH.
Judith Kimble: Vilas Professor and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Medical Genetics, and Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She specializes in understanding germline development in C. elegans and the molecular regulators that control the decision between stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Professor Kimble served as President of the Genetics Society of America in 2000, and President of the Society for Developmental Biology 2004-05. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was elected to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, and to the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science in 2012.
Patricia Kuwabara: Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Bristol. Dr. Kuwabara uses C. elegans to address questions aimed toward understanding organismal development and physiology. Her interests include how signaling pathways have evolved, how organisms respond to DNA damage, and the role of lipid and protein trafficking in the early embryo.
Michel Labouesse: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Université de Strasbourg, France. His research focuses on the biochemical processes involved in growth and morphogenesis of C. elegans embryos and epithelial cells, as well as the mechanical forces involved in shaping organs. Professor Labouesse received an Advanced grant from the European Reseach Council 2011 and is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
Barbara J. Meyer: Professor of Genetics and Development in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, adjunct Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, U.C. San Francisco School of Medicine, and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research addresses basic aspects of chromosome dynamics and development using the nematode C. elegans, with an emphasis on sex determination and dosage compensation. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology.
Coleen Murphy: Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Richard B. Fisher Preceptor in Integrative Genomics, and Director of the Paul F. Glenn Laboratories for Aging Research, Princeton University. The goal of her work is to understand the molecular mechanisms governing longevity and maintenance of the biological processes that exhibit age-related decline. Professor Murphy was named a Pew Scholar, a Basil O'Connor Scholar, a McKnight Scholar, and a Keck Young Scholar, and is the recipient of the ASCB Women in Cell Biology Jr. Award.
Joel Rothman: Joel Rothman is the Wilcox Family Endowed Chair in Biotechnology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and also holds a partial appointment at the University of Auckland. His studies on C. elegans include mechanisms of embryonic and germline cell fate specification, stem cell biology and reprogramming, and the relationship between apoptosis and normal cellular processes. His awards include a Steenbock Career Development Award (1991-96), a Searle Scholars Award (1992-95), a Shaw Scientists Award (1993-96), and an Erskine Fellowship (2008). He is co-Director of the Santa Barbara Advanced School of Quantitative Biology, serves on the editorial boards of Developmental Biology, Current Biology, Developmental Dynamics, Apoptosis, and Worm, and was co-editor of the 2011-12 Methods in Cell Biology two-volume series on C. elegans.
Andrew Singson: Professor at the Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, New Jersey. The Singson lab works to identify the molecular mechanisms of gamete recognition, adhesion, signaling and fusion. The lab also examines how fertilization regulates the oocyte-to-embryo transition. Professor Singson was co-editor of the 2011-12 Methods in Cell Biology two-volume series on C. elegans. He was a Johnson & Johnson Discovery Award Winner in 2002 and 2004.
Paul W. Sternberg (ex officio member): Dr. Sternberg is the Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and is lead Principal Investigator of WormBase. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Sternberg served as President of the Genetics Society of American in 2011.
Susan Strome: Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She uses C. elegans to study how chromatin regulators and cytoplasmic germ granules contribute to specifying and guiding development of the germline. She was Co-Organizer of the 1987, 1999, and 2001 International C. elegans Meetings, and of the 2006 Germ Cells meeting. Her awards include 1988-90 and 1992-97 American Cancer Society Faculty Awards, a 1998-99 Guggenheim Fellowship, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010.

WormMethods Editors

Oliver Hobert: Professor and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center. Methods in C. elegans.
Ralf Sommer: Director, Max-Plank Institute for Developmental Biology, Department of Evolutionary Biology, Tübigen. Methods in nematode species other than C. elegans.

Software Development Group

Daniel Wang: As WormBook Production Manager, Daniel oversees the publication process, ensuring timely handling of chapter production. He is in charge of the website. Daniel is also a WormBase curator.
Todd Harris: Scientific Programmer and Project Manager under Dr. Lincoln D. Stein at The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. He specializes in bioinformatics, user-interface development, data analysis and visualization.
Eimear Kenny
Maggie Tsang
Cecilia Nakamura
Lisa Girard
Tristan J. Fiedler
Igor Antoshechkin
Felicia Carvalho

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All WormBook content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.