Erica J. Hutchins

Erica J. Hutchins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Tissue Biology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She leads the Hutchins Lab, which investigates post-transcriptional regulation of developmental pluripotency and cell fate decisions using vertebrate neural crest as a model system.

Education and Training:

• PhD in Cell Biology from University at Albany
• Postdoctoral training under Dr. Marianne Bronner at Caltech

Research Focus:
The lab explores how RNA granules and post-transcriptional mechanisms govern neural crest epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT), Wnt signaling dynamics, and disease mechanisms linked to congenital malformations and cancers.

Publications Trends:
Her work spans RNA regulation, EMT, and neural crest biology, with recent studies addressing CRISPR tools, spatial RNA decay, and lipid signaling in developmental transitions.

Scientific Awards:

• NIH Pathway to Independence Award (R00)

Labs and Teams:
She leads the Hutchins Lab at UCSF, collaborating with experts in live RNA imaging, classical embryology, and computational biology to dissect post-transcriptional networks in vivo.