Patricia Schneider

Assistant Professor
CDIB Division

B.Sc.: University of Para, Brazil, 2003
Ph.D.: University of Iowa, 2010
Post-Doc: University of Chicago, 2010-2011
Assistant Professor: University of Para, Brazil, 2012-2019
Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar, Northwestern University, 2019-2021

Phone: 225 578-6348
Lab Phone 225-578-8562 
Office: 372 Life Sciences Bldg
Lab: 379 Life Sciences Bldg
E-mail: [email protected] 

Website: Patricia Schneider Lab

Area of Interest: Evolutionary Developmental Biology (EvoDevo) 

The development of the vertebrate eye is a complex process orchestrated by several conserved transcriptional and signaling regulators. Aside from partial or complete loss, only a few examples of exceptional modifications to this intricate organ have been reported. My research interest is to understand the mechanisms and evolutionary forces driving morphological changes in the visual system, combining morphology and genomic/transcriptomic approaches. In the long-term, my research program aims to shed light into the evolutionary adaptations of the visual system and improve our understanding of the gene regulatory networks behind these changes.
Currently, my primary research interest is to study evolutionary innovations of the visual system, using the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps as a research species. With a partially duplicated eye, simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision, and a single optic nerve, Anableps consists in a unique model to study the developmental and genetic bases of evolutionary novelty.  Our next step is aimed at expanding on our recent findings and establishing Anableps as a research system to uncover the molecular mechanisms controlling the specialization of retina photoreceptors and the molecular changes leading to the partial eye duplication.

Selected Publications

Perez LN, Mariluz BR, Lorena J, Liu A, Sousa MP, Martins RAP, Taylor JS, Schneider PN. The subterranean catfish Phreatobius cisternarum provides insights into visual adaptations to the phreatic environment. Int J Dev Biol. 2021;65(4-5-6):245-250.

Beaudry FEG, Iwanicki TW, Mariluz BRZ, Darnet S, Brinkmann H, Schneider P, Taylor JS. The non-visual opsins: eighteen in the ancestor of vertebrates, astonishing increase in ray-finned fish, and loss in amniotes. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2017 Nov;328(7):685-696. 

Perez LN, Lorena J, Costa CM, Araujo MS, Frota-Lima GN, Matos-Rodrigues GE, Martins RA, Mattox GM, Schneider PN. Eye development in the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps: cranial and retinal adaptations to simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision. Proc Biol Sci. 2017 Apr 12;284(1852):20170157. 

Marcellini S, González F, Sarrazin AF, Pabón-Mora N, Benítez M, Piñeyro-Nelson A, Rezende GL, Maldonado E, Schneider PN, Grizante MB, Da Fonseca RN, Vergara-Silva F, Suaza-Gaviria V, Zumajo-Cardona C, Zattara EE, Casasa S, Suárez-Baron H, Brown FD. Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) Research in Latin America. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2017 Jan;328(1-2):5-40.

Schneider PN, Slusarski DC, Houston DW. Differential role of Axin RGS domain function in Wnt signaling during anteroposterior patterning and maternal axis formation. PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44096.