"There and back again: from the physical to the molecular basis of morphogenesis"

Lance Davidson, PhD 
Associate  Professor
University of Pittsburgh

Lance Davidson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.  Prior to this he was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Virginia.

Davidson got his BS in Physics at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.  He then earned his MSc in Experimental Space Science from York University in Toronto.  From there he moved to the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his PhD in Biophysics.

Davidson’s research focuses on integrating the biomechanics of morphogenesis across a number of size scales from subcellular generation of forces to the macroscopic forces and bulk tissue properties that guide development of the developing embryo.  His lab also studies microscopy and image analysis techniques, including fluorescent RNA in situ, FRET, and high resolution timelapse confocal imaging of live cells in tissues.

Davidson is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Award (2009), which recognizes the early career-development activities of those who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century.  He also attained the American Heart Association Beginning Grant-in-Aid (2008).  He is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the Society of Developmental Biology, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – Bioengineering.  He serves as an ad hoc peer reviewer for several professional journals, such as Nature Cell Biology, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, and Journal of Cell Science, amongst others.