Didier Stainier

Together with the many students and postdocs in his laboratory, Stainier helped pioneer the use of the zebrafish model to study a wide range of questions pertaining to vertebrate organ development and function,[3] and has published extensively.[4][5][6] His forward genetic analyses of heart development revealed the unexpected role of several signaling pathways including sphingosine 1-phosphate signaling[7] and the discovery of the long-elusive sphingosine 1-phosphate transporter.[8][9] Additional genetic screens led to the elucidation of transcriptional networks regulating endoderm formation[10] and endothelial cell specification[11] as well as extracellular signals regulating liver induction.[12] He pushed the frontiers of in vivo microscopy[13] to reveal new insights into cardiac valve formation[14] and cardiac trabeculation, and used cellular approaches to gain a detailed understanding of these processes. Stainier developed and used single-cell analyses to provide the first in vivo demonstration of the hemangioblast,[15] a formerly hypothetical cell that gives rise to both endothelial and blood cells, as well as the discovery of a new mode of blood vessel formation.[16] His studies on gut looping morphogenesis revealed the importance of tissue-level physical forces in shaping organs,[17] and his studies on gut lumen formation revealed the importance of fluid flow in this process.[18] He developed a number of cell ablation models that allowed him and others to gain new insights into the process of organ regeneration, with potential implications for novel disease therapies.[19] Most recently, he has also made significant contributions to the understanding of genetic compensation.[20][21]