The Portman laboratory studies the genetic mechanisms that generate sexual dimorphism in development and behavior. Our efforts focus on the powerful nematode model system Caenorhabditis elegans, because of its exceptional tractability and conserved battery of genetic mechanisms. By its nature, our work is fundamentally interdisciplinary, drawing from molecular genetics, developmental biology, molecular/cellular neuroscience, and animal behavior. Understanding sex differences in development and behavior is not only of biological interest; we hope to also understand the genetic basis for the significant sex differences in the incidence of neurological and mental health disorders such as mental retardation and autism. Interests: Genetics of development and behavior in C. elegans; Neural cell fate specification; Sex differences in neural circuit function; Sexual dimorphism in developmental patterning