WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 13, 2007 - Developmental biologist Robert Savage at Williams College is studying segmental pattern formation: "I look at how animals pattern their bodies from an embryo to an adult."

The long-term objective of his research is to investigate the cellular and molecular processes that control annelid development, with an emphasis on understanding the evolution of segmental pattern formation.

Annelids are basically segmented worms, a huge group or phylum that includes earthworms, ringworms, and hydrothermal vent worms.

"They have any number of segments going from head to tail," he said. "And the question is: how does the head segment know it's head and how does the tail segment know it's tail?"

During different stages of development, different genes are activated or expressed. Depending on the type of animal the same genes will be expressed in different ways for varied purposes.

"The idea is that even though humans have roughly the same copy of regulatory genes as a fly, or as an annelid, we use them in different ways and different times," he said. "There's this tool kit that's being used by everybody: how do you arrange the different bricks in a way to make a giant building or a small building? That's the idea. The building blocks are all the same, but they're used in different ways."

In his research, Savage has compared the products of gene expression during segmentation of a basic, or basal, annelid and of a derived form of the same creature: "There's going to be some differences but also shared similarities," he said. "So the idea here was: 'I'll trap all those genes' products that expressed during segmentation, and then compare what's similar and what's different.' "

Chris Warren, database integration specialist at Williams, wrote the programs that compared the genetic sequences of the two annelids. Savage used this information to isolate 83 relevant genes the two annelids share, genes that may be important for early patterning and segmentation. Such information will give him clues on how the annelid has evolved.

The sequencing of the genomes of various species, and the computing power that has made this possible, have transformed every aspect of biology, Savage said.

"We've always known that evolutionary biology is the thread that ties the sciences together. But now we can look at those genome-level questions, from which we can decipher evolutionary time and start to ask how we came to be, what makes us different, what makes us the same, how do proteins change over time," he said. "And having that comparative foundation allows you to generate hypotheses and to test function or test in whatever way."

Savage, who has been at Williams since 1997, teaches introductory and advanced level courses in cell and developmental biology. During the summer, he directs the Williams Program at the Marine Biological Lab (MBL) in Woods Hole, Mass., funded by a HHMI grant awarded to the college. In 2006, his second year as director, six students participated in this program.

One of his goals is that the students participate in an original research project. Savage has been working with a gene called 'hunchback' for many years, and students participating in the Williams-MBL program are assisting in this research.

"What I'm doing now is looking at this gene in different lineages to see how its role has changed in evolutionary time," he said. "I've been able to look so far at four different major animal groups, and look at the function of the gene and how it's changed over time or how it hasn't changed."

"An important second goal of the program is to expose students to a broad array of opportunities in biological sciences offered at the MBL each summer," he said. "This exposure is accomplished by having the students attend graduate-level courses, general lectures, and meet with resident scientists."

"By living in an environment entirely composed of scientists, attending graduate lectures, and hearing visiting scientists share their most recent work, I gleaned a more thorough understanding of what being a scientist entailed," Williams sophomore Emily Behrman said about the program.

During his time at Williams, Savage has received significant funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for his research. He has served as a panel member on issues of developmental biology for both organizations in recent years.

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Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in this research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment, which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college is located in Williamstown, Mass. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu