Ugo Coppola

I have always been very fascinated by evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) of animal kingdom. After graduating in Biological Sciences in Napoli (Italy), I joined Stazione Zoologica (SZN) Anton Dohrn in Napoli to develop multiple evo-devo projects. During my Master, PhD and first postdoc at SZN, I discovered novel molecular mechanisms driving the evolution and the development of pigment cells and nervous systems in chordate phylum. Specifically, I gained first-hand knowledge of multiple invertebrate (amphioxus, tunicates) and vertebrate (zebrafish) chordates. For my second postdoctoral experience, I joined the Waxman lab at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital because I wanted to shed light on the cardiovascular development of vertebrates from an evolutionary and a regulatory perspective, using zebrafish as a model. To better understand the evolution of chordates’ cardiovascular structures, I will engage the FGCU students in multidisciplinary projects encompassing evolutionary genomics, molecular biology and developmental biology. Using tunicates and zebrafish, I will establish the first lab dedicated to heart evodevo biology of chordates.