| Citation | Lumsden's research seeks to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms directing the earliest events in brain development. He has demonstrated true neural segmentation in a vertebrate brain.
Lumsden's early work provided evidence for axonal chemotropism in developing brain and spinal cord (refs. 13, 16, 18, 20). His recent work has shown that partition of the embryonic hind brain neural epithelium occurs through allocation of cell blocks (rhombomeres) between cells which do not mix (8, 14) and within which specific neuronal populations subsequently develop (1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15). The interfaces between rhombomeres spatially limit expression domains of a number of putative developmental control genes, including those of the Hox homeobox gene clusters (5, 6). Analogous to the compartments of insects the rhombomeres are now seen to be polyclonal lineage restriction units within which regional specification is controlled. |