Igor Schneider
Assistant Professor
CDIB Division
B.Sc.: University of Para, Brazil, 2003
Ph.D.: University of Iowa, 2009
Post-Doc: University of Chicago, 2009-2012
Assistant Professor: University of Para, Brazil, 2012-2019
Visiting Associate Professor, University of Chicago, 2019-2021
Phone: 225-578-0146
Lab Phone:
Office: 370 Life Sciences Bldg
Lab: 386/387 Life Sciences Bldg
E-mail: [email protected]
Area of Interest: Evolution of regeneration
The ability to regenerate lost body parts is widespread among animals and has marveled and intrigued generations of scientists. Today, thanks to research in a small number of animal species, we have a greater understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of regeneration. However, fundamental questions remain unanswered, such as: Why can some species regenerate body parts while others cannot? Is there a genetic and gene regulatory toolkit for regeneration? My long-term research aims at exploiting the diversity of animal life to understand how regeneration evolves and to identify conserved and derived mechanisms of regeneration. Answers to these questions will have broad implications for both basic science and regenerative medicine. To this end, my research combines emerging research organisms such as lungfish and bichirs, as well as more established research systems such as axolotl and zebrafish to identify shared cellular and molecular components of regeneration. We have been developing and utilizing a broad range of traditional tools for the comparative study of regeneration. Studying the multi-layered processes that trigger regeneration in a comparative framework will help us identify shared molecular and cellular programs of interest to regenerative medicine and understand how and why regeneration evolves.
Selected Publications
Nakamura T, Schneider I, Shubin NH. Evolution: The deep genetic roots of tetrapod-specific traits. Curr Biol. 2021 May 24;31(10):R467-R469.
Kohlsdorf T, Schneider I. Towards an evolutionary framework for animal regeneration. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2021 Mar;336(2):87-88.
Verissimo KM, Perez LN, Dragalzew AC, Senevirathne G, Darnet S, Barroso Mendes WR, Ariel Dos Santos Neves C, Monteiro Dos Santos E, Nazare de Sousa Moraes C, Elewa A, Shubin N, Fröbisch NB, de Freitas Sousa J, Schneider I. Salamander-like tail regeneration in the West African lungfish. Proc Biol Sci. 2020 Sep 30;287(1935):20192939.
Darnet S, Dragalzew AC, Amaral DB, Sousa JF, Thompson AW, Cass AN, Lorena J, Pires ES, Costa CM, Sousa MP, Fröbisch NB, Oliveira G, Schneider PN, Davis MC, Braasch I, Schneider I. Deep evolutionary origin of limb and fin regeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jul 23;116(30):15106-15115.
Amaral DB, Schneider I. Fins into limbs: Recent insights from sarcopterygian fish. Genesis. 2018 Jan;56(1).
Nogueira AF, Costa CM, Lorena J, Moreira RN, Frota-Lima GN, Furtado C, Robinson M, Amemiya CT, Darnet S, Schneider I. Tetrapod limb and sarcopterygian fin regeneration share a core genetic programme. Nat Commun. 2016 Nov 2;7:13364.