The DeSimone laboratory at the University of Virginia was established in January of 1989. It is located in the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Virginia  School of Medicine. A number of predoctoral and postdoctoral colleagues have received training in the DeSimone lab and many of these individuals have gone on to postdoctoral, academic and biotech industry positions. Their contributions to our research program are highlighted on the research and publications pages. We have also had the pleasure to host colleagues and collaborators from many institutions within the USA and Europe.

We are fortunate to be part of an exceptional intellectual environment that complements our combined interests in the areas of morphogenesis, cell adhesion, cell migration, and cell signaling. Our laboratory participates actively in the newly formed Morphogenesis and Regenerative Medicine Institute (MRMI), which brings together colleagues from across the grounds of the University of Virginia. We collaborate regularly with the Keller lab in the Department of Biology, which has pioneered studies on the behaviors of cells involved in driving cell rearrangements at gastrulation and neurulation. We also maintain close collaborative ties with our immediate neighbors in the White lab, to investigate the functions of the ADAMs family of transmembrane metalloproteinases in early development. Our research also benefits greatly from the collective expertise and exchange of ideas that come from frequent interactions with a number of other laboratories and individual colleagues. These include Rick Horwitz (Director of the Cell Migration Consortium), Barry Gumbiner (Chair of Cell Biology and Director of the MRMI), Martin Schwartz (Cardiovascular Research Center), Rob Grainger (Director, Developmental Biology Training Program), and Tom Skalak (Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering).

The research in the DeSimone laboratory is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. We also acknowledge gratefully the past support of the NIH, the American Cancer Society and the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences.