Key Documents
Greg Barsh
- Professor, Genetics
- Professor, Pediatrics - Genetics
Contact Information
- Clinical Offices
Medicine Specialties Clinic 730 Welch Rd 2nd Floor Palo Alto, CA 94304 Telephone Work (650) 723-6858 Fax
- Academic Offices
Personal InformationAdministrative Contact Kathy Shaw Administrative Assistant Email katyshaw@cmgm.stanford.edu Tel Work 723 5035
Professional Education
- MD, University of Washington Medicine (1984)
- BS, University of California, Irvine Biology (1977)
- PhD, University of Washington Genetics of Human Disease (1984)
Postdoctoral Advisees
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Web Site Links
Industry Relationships
Stanford is committed to ethical and transparent interactions with our industry partners. It is our policy to disclose payments of $5,000 or more, equity valued at $5,000 or more in a publicly traded company, or any equity in a privately held company, to physicians and scientists employed by Stanford University from companies or other commercial entities with which they interact as part of their professional activities.
- Consulting: HAIB, MRL
Research Interests
Color variation is one of the most readily apparent differences among closely related animals, and has been studied extensively as a model for Mendelian genetics over the last 100 years. Our laboratory is interested in the mechanisms that give rise to eye, hair, and skin coloration, both as a tool for studying gene action and interaction, and because many signaling pathways used by the pigmentary system play important roles in human development and disease.
All mammals use the same genetic toolbox, and several mouse coat color mutations have human counterparts such as oculocutaneous albinism or Chediak-Higashi syndrome. Applying the genetics of mouse hair color as a model, however, is relevant not only to rare inborn errors but also to common diseases including diabetes and obesity, neurodegeneration, and skin cancer. Production of normal hair and skin color depends on a series of processes--cell migration, stem cell renewal, paracrine regulation of cell physiology--used in many different contexts throughout the body; pigmentation phenotypes are especially well-suited for studying these processes because mutations are efficiently recognized, subtle effects on gene expression are easily detected, and the cell types and tissues involved are amenable to experimental manipulation.
Our original interest in mouse coat color genetics stems from mutations that cause a back-and-forth switch between pigment granules characteristic of red hair, to those characteristic of black, brown, or blond hair. Studies of these pigment type-switching mutations have identified one set of pathways important for body weight regulation, and another set of pathways implicated in neurodegeneration. Several current projects in the laboratory are directed at specific aspects of these pathways.
Publications
- Science. 2009; (5919): 1339-43
- Nat Genet. 2008; (8): 963-70
- Science. 2007; (5855): 1418-23
- Genetics. 2007; (3): 1679-89
- N Engl J Med. 2007; (21): 2208-10
- J Clin Invest. 2005; (4): 951-8
- PLoS Biol. 2005; (12): e415
- Nat Genet. 2004; (9): 961-8
- PLoS Biol. 2004; (1): E3
- Science. 2003; (5607): 710-2
- PLoS Biol. 2003; (1): E27
- Genes Dev. 2003; (2): 214-28
- Nat Rev Genet. 2002; (8): 589-600
- Nat Genet. 2001; (1): 40-7
- Mamm Genome. 2000; (1): 24-30
- Nature. 2000; (6778): 644-51
- Science. 1997; (5335): 135-8
- Science. 2009; (5936): 34
- Genetics. 2009; (4): 1427-36
- Mol Cell Biol. 2008; (1): 282-92
- Int J Obes (Lond). 2008; S19-27
- Science. 2008; (5866): 1100-4
- Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2008; (1): 63-9
- Endocrinology. 2008; (4): 1773-85
- PLoS Genet. 2007; (1): e9
- Cell. 2007; (5): 779-81
- J Clin Invest. 2007; (8): 2325-36
- PLoS One. 2007; (1): e702
- Mol Biol Cell. 2007; (4): 1129-42
- Endocrinology. 2007; (1): 72-80
- J Invest Dermatol. 2007; (1): 60-4
- Nat Genet. 2007; (11): 1304-6
- Pigment Cell Res. 2006; (3): 194-205
- Mol Endocrinol. 2006; (10): 2591-602
- J Invest Dermatol. 2006; (5): 1013-6
- Endocrinology. 2004; (12): 5798-806
- Mamm Genome. 2004; (10): 798-808
- J Hered. 2003 Jan-Feb; (1): 75-9
- Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003; 288-98
- Nature. 2003; (6958): 576
- J Recept Signal Transduct Res. 2002 Feb-Nov; (1-4): 63-77
- BMC Genet. 2002; 2
- Genome Res. 2002; (2): 281-91
- Nat Immunol. 2001; (12): 1109-16
- Genetics. 2001; (4): 1683-95
- Endocr Res. 2000; (4): 571
- Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2000; (2): 76-81
- Development. 2000; (2): 307-17
- Pigment Cell Res. 2000; 48-53
- Transgenic Res. 1999; (6): 451-8
- Dev Biol. 1999; (1): 133-49
- Mol Med Today. 1999; (6): 250-6
- J Biol Chem. 1999; (22): 15837-46
- Endocrinology. 1999; (5): 2387-97
- Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999; 143-52
- Nature. 1999; (6723): 152-6
- Genes Dev. 1998; (3): 316-30
- Hum Mol Genet. 1997; (2): 185-91
- Am J Physiol. 1997; (2 Pt 2): H1053-61
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997; (12): 6391-6
- Genetics. 1997; (4): 1407-15
- Mamm Genome. 1997; (2): 139-40
- Genomics. 1996; (2): 219-25
- Genetics. 1996; (1): 265-77
- Science. 1996; (5276): 803-5
- Trends Genet. 1996; (8): 299-305
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996; (14): 7375-80
- Nat Genet. 1996; (3): 296-302
- Genomics. 1995; (2): 369-71
- Nature. 1995; (6551): 744-7
- Development. 1995; (10): 3223-32
- Mol Pharmacol. 1995; (1): 48-55
- Hum Mol Genet. 1995; (2): 223-30
- Cell. 1994; (6): 1025-34
- Nat Genet. 1994; (1): 59-65
- Mamm Genome. 1994; (1): 3-10
- EMBO J. 1994; (8): 1806-16
- Development. 1994; (6): 1695-708
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994; (12): 5667-71
- Mamm Genome. 1993; (11): 650-5
- Cell. 1993; (5): 833-43
- Genes Dev. 1993; (3): 454-67
- J Biol Chem. 1993; (2): 763-6
- Genomics. 1992; (3): 731-40
- Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1992; (3): 1280-7
- Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1992; (3): 1201-6
- Mol Pharmacol. 1992; (1): 16-27