Our overall research interest is the regulation of animal development and the cell-biological mechanisms that mediate it, with a particular focus on lipid droplets. Lipid droplets are organelles to store fat, and they have fundamental roles in many cellular processes, from energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism to protein sequestration. Despite their critical importance for cells and for organismal physiology, their role in development remains largely uncharacterized. One important mission of our lab is to fill this knowledge gap. We employ the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as our model system and address questions with a combination of live-imaging, molecular genetics, biochemistry, and genomics. Our research is very visual and generates striking images. Currently, we work on four interrelated problems: 1) How do lipid droplets control the nuclear pool of the histone variant H2Av? 2) Do nuclear levels of H2Av control developmental timing? 3) How do lipid droplets modulate lipid metabolism to support development? 4) Is there a role for lipid droplets in innate immunity? We do not have any openings for undergraduate researchers for the fall semester 2024, but probably can accept new students for spring 2025. If you submit an application, Dr. Welte will get back to you sometime in October/November. Interests: Cell and developmental biology; lipid droplets; regulation of animal development; histone dosage; Drosophila oogenesis and embryogenesis; innate immunity