Jhumku Kohtz, PhD
Position:
Research Associate Professor of Pediatrics Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Phone:
773.755.6358
Fax:
773.775.6385
Email:
j-kohtz@northwestern.edu
Education and Training:
- 11/1994-5/1999: Associate Research Scientist, Gordon Fishell Lab, Skirball Institute, NYU School of Medicine, NY
- 9/1991-3/1995: Postdoctoral Fellow, James Manley Lab, Columbia University, NY
- 9/1990: Ph.D., Edward Johnson Lab, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY.
Current or Past Study:
Jhumku Kohtz joined the Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University/Children's Research Center as an Assistant Professor in June 1999. She is a faculty member in two graduate programs, the Northwestern University Institute for Neuroscience (NUIN) and the Integrated Graduate Program (IGP). Her lab is focused in two aims: 1. Studies of how forebrain patterning depends on Shh morphogenic gradients established through lipid-modification, 2. Studies of Evf2, ultraconserved non-coding RNA target of Shh signaling with transcription-regulating activity. She recently discovered that the Evf2 non-coding RNA complexes with Dlx homeodomain proteins and that Evf2 expression is critical for balanced gene expression in the Dlx 5/6 region. Future work includes determining the mechanism of non-coding RNA/homeodomain interactions and their role in dosage of genes critical for GABAergic interneurons. Studies are performed at the biochemical, genetic and behavioral levels.