Rebecca is interested in hormonal regulation of development. She studies the genetic basis of the hormonal control of metamorphosis. To investigate this, she is performing a Genome-Wide Association Study on sensitivity to the juvenile hormone mimics methoprene and pyriproxyfen using the Drosophila Genetics Reference Panel (DGRP). She is also identifying hormone sensitive enhancers through ChIP-seq experiments of the Ecdysone Receptor (EcR) and juvenile hormone receptor, Methoprene-tolerant (Met), using GFP-tagged flies generated during her postdoctoral studies, as part of the modENCODE project.
She is currently examining how ectopic juvenile hormone mimics lead to melanotic pseudotumors. After finding a range of melanotic pseudotumor phenotypes induced by methoprene across the DGRP, she is characterizing hemocyte responses. Lamellocytes, large hemocytes ordinarily restricted to parasitized larvae, are induced in all DGRP isolines examined after methoprene and pyriproxyfen treatment. She is currently testing whether the JH receptors or members of known tumor inducing pathways, such as JAK/STAT, are required for this response.