Duke University · BiologyEpithelial Development and Transition Lab
David Mcclay · Durham, North Carolina
Research Focus
Dr. David McClay's lab at Duke University studies how cells transform during development, particularly focusing on a process called epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). This process is key in forming the tissues of embryos and, when dysregulated, can contribute to cancer metastasis and birth defects. Using sea urchins as a model, the lab investigates the molecular mechanisms behind EMT to identify which factors drive these changes in cell behavior and how they can be manipulated to improve health outcomes.
embryonic developmentepithelial to mesenchymal transitionmolecular biologysea urchinscancer metastasis
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the molecular mechanisms that drive epithelial to mesenchymal transition in sea urchin cells.
AIM 02Identify key transcription factors that regulate cell motility and remodeling during EMT.
AIM 03Characterize the role of molecular effectors in coordinating EMT-related processes.
AIM 04Determine similarities and differences in EMT across different cell types.
AIM 05Develop new molecular tools to study cell transformation in real-time.
Skills the Lab Values
RNA sequencingsingle-cell RNA sequencingmolecular cloningcell culturegene expression analysis
Output against the department
Publications206top 32% of dept.328th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations15ktop 25% of dept.263rd of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.