The research in my laboratory from 1983 to 2018 and with my collaborators and students emphasized multidisciplinary approaches to studying the molecular evolution of the neuroendocrine system in basal vertebrates, lampreys and hagfish. Our contributions and major breakthroughs in the biological sciences and neuroendocrinology are related to the origin, evolution and function of the neuroendocrine system in vertebrates. Our work showed and confirmed that the hypothalamic-pituitary system was a vertebrate innovation and seminal event that emerged prior to or during the differentiation of the ancestral jawless vertebrates (agnathans) (Sower et al., 2009, Sower 2015). My laboratory, along with my many collaborators, have been the driving force in elucidating the lamprey neuroendocrine system.
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