The Fox Lab at Duke University

We are born with two sets of chromosomes: one from Mom and one from Dad. But in many places in our bodies, as we develop, the chromosome sets can be doubled, quadrupled, and so on. This makes cells bigger and changes their molecular composition. We want to know how this genome duplication, known as polyploidy, changes organ structure and function, and can be used to heal wounds. Long term, our work can contribute to knowledge that could eliminate the large number of cancer cells that accidentally become polyploid.