About the PI

Andrew Dudley began his research career in the laboratory of Dr. Anthony L. Moore at University of Sussex (United Kingdom) during his junior year abroad. At University of Sussex, he studied the effect of the osmotic environment on electron flux through distinct respiratory pathways in plant and animal mitochondria. Upon returning to Cornell University, he worked with Dr. Peter Hinkle in the Department of Biochemistry to develop methods for the analysis of ion channels in the inner mitochondrial membrane using patch clamp technology.

After graduation in 1988 with a B.S. in Biochemistry, magna cum laude , Dr. Dudley joined the laboratory of Dr. R. Glenn Hammonds as a research technician in the research group of Dr. William Wood at Genentech, Inc. At Genentech, Dr. Dudley participated in the purification and characterization of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), molecules that would later be shown to play important roles in the development and function of many tissues. While working on bioassays for BMPs, he became interested in how signaling promotes cell differentiation.

In 1992, Dr. Dudley decided to pursue his interest in cell differentiation by entering the graduate program at Harvard University. He joined the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth J. Robertson, a pre-eminent mouse embryologist who was instrumental in establishing embryonic stem cells as a system for generating genetically modified mice. In Dr. Robertson's laboratory, he combined methods in mouse genetics, gene expression, and explant cultures to demonstrate that bone morphogenetic protein-7 is required in the kidney to maintain a population of nephrogenic progenitor cells for the subsequent generation of tubules.

After receiving his Ph.D. in 1998, Dr. Dudley became a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Clifford J. Tabin in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. There he began research on skeletal function and morphogenesis. Specifically, using classical embryological techniques, he demonstrated that mesenchyme cells at different proximo-distal positions in the limb bud acquire unique properties long before overt differences are observed in the developing cartilage elements. These studies challenged the validity of the Progress Zone model of limb patterning and suggested important changes to the accepted paradigms in limb development.

Since establishing his own laboratory at Northwestern University, Dr. Dudley has continued to study development of the musculoskeletal system. His current focus is on understanding how cell behavior is regulated to alter tissue structure and morphogenesis. Ultimately, we would like to apply new knowledge in morphogenesis to develop novel approaches to the repair and regeneration of the musculoskeletal system.