Nick Baker
- Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
- Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences
Biography
- Dr. Baker received his PhD from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, and did postdoctoral research in Molecular Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. He is interested in the signals that control development. During his PhD, he cloned and characterized the wingless gene, co-founder of the Wnt gene family. His postdoctoral work with Dr. Gerry Rubin at UC Berkeley investigated signaling mechanisms during neuronal fate specification in the Drosophila eye. Dr. Baker’s lab at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made many contributions to understanding cell signaling processes that regulate neuronal development, including how Notch signaling interacts with transcription factors to direct cells to neuronal cell fate, using genetics, confocal microscopy, transcriptomics and mathematical modeling. His research later addressed the mechanisms of cell proliferation and survival that act in concert with development to control the number of progenitor cells available for development, developing one of the most complete understandings of organ cell number in the case of the developing Drosophila eye. Observing how cell competition between cells with different growth rates affected cell survival inspired genetic screens designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of cell competition, which are the focus of his lab at UC Irvine.
- BA(Hons) Natural Sciences, Cambridge University 1982
- PhD MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology 1986
- Postdoctoral Research, University of California at Berkeley, 1986-90
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine 1991-2024. Harold and Muriel Block Professor of Genetics
- Nick’s other interests include sports such as tennis, and African butterflies
Lab Members
Olivia Monet
Junior Specialist
June 2024 – Present
Nice to meet you! I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Genetics from the University of California, Irvine in Spring of 2024 and joined the lab as a Junior Specialist directly after. During my undergraduate work, I studied the Chondroitin Sulfate enzymatic pathway using Drosophila as a model organism. In the Baker lab, my project is to understand how cell competition recognizes and eliminates abnormal cells by elucidating the roles of transcriptional targets of the Xrp1 protein using a novel assay that tracks Drosophila aneuploid cells in vivo. In my free time, I enjoy reading, embroidering, playing video games, finding hidden treasures in the campus e-waste, and seeing my friends and family.
Neha Joshi
Graduate Student
October 2024 – Present
I completed my undergraduate studies in Chemistry and got a Masters in Biochemistry from India. I moved to the UK to pursue a second Masters (by Research) in Cancer from Newcastle University. I studied the role of cell cycle proteins cyclin B1 and CDK1 in cancer cell survival as part of my dissertation. After completing my studies, I worked for 2 years at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK on generating a physiologically relevant biobank of patient-derived cancer organoids and further using CRISPR/Cas9 to generate gene knockout cancer organoid models. My area of focus in the Baker lab is to deduce mechanisms by which ribosome biogenesis defects affect cells e.g. through altered translation, splicing etc, using molecular methods such as ribosome profiling, in both fruit flies and mice. Outside of work, I enjoy exploring Southern California beaches, reading books and taking long walks.
Jensen Northrup
Work Study Student/Undergraduate
October 2024 – Present
Hello! I am currently working towards my Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences, and started my work-study program with Dr. Baker’s lab in my first quarter here at UC Irvine. I transferred from Moorpark College with an A.S. in Biology, A.S. in Chemistry, A.A. in Natural Sciences, and A.A. in Liberal Studies. I handle various tasks in the lab, but my main role is maintaining the fly stocks. I have a profound interest in both genetic and infectious diseases, and I would love to eventually do research focusing on TSEs. Outside of the lab, I do amateur field data collection focusing on invertebrates, and I breed pinacate beetles as a hobby.
Aaryan Rattan
Undergraduate Researcher
January 2025 – Present
I am an undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine. I am on track to obtain my B.S. in Biological Sciences, with a minor in Religious Studies and International Relations. I joined Dr. Baker’s lab in early January 2025, where I genotype mice using PCR and gel electrophoresis. My interests lie in experimentation, analysis, and writing/designing protocols. Outside the lab, I love watching movies and F1, playing golf, and eating ramen.
