My research uses the genetics of the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to analyze the development of the gonadal sheath, a tissue that is made of five pairs of cells surrounding the proximal half of each gonadal arm and that is required for gametogenesis, spermatogenesis, meiotic progression and ovulation. Currently, my research focuses on the identification and characterization of the genes required to specify the cell fate of the gonadal sheath cells using double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi). Understanding the common underlying principles of the determinants of tissue identity can lead to the better understanding of what goes wrong when these processes are improperly executed, for example, during the dedifferentiation of cancer cells in malignant tumors. In addition, these studies have the potential of better understanding the regulation of the production of oocytes (ova) and sperm, during gametogenesis. research uses the genetics of the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to analyze the development of the gonadal sheath, a tissue that is made of five pairs of cells surrounding the proximal half of each gonadal arm and that is required for gametogenesis, spermatogenesis, meiotic progression and ovulation. Currently, my research focuses on the identification and characterization of the genes required to specify the cell fate of the gonadal sheath cells using double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi). Understanding the common underlying principles of the determinants of tissue identity can lead to the better understanding of what goes wrong when these processes are improperly executed, for example, during the dedifferentiation of cancer cells in malignant tumors. In addition, these studies have the potential of better understanding the regulation of the production of oocytes (ova) and sperm, during gametogenesis.