The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awarded The Ohio State University a $157,500 Project Grant under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865) to investigate the coordination of systemic and local growth signaling in the gene regulatory network controlling Drosophila wing development. The research aims to determine how a systemic signal, potentially insulin signaling, activates local growth pathways to initiate cell division in the nascent wing disc. The project will also identify the specific morphogenetic pathways, such as EGFR, that are sensitive to nutritional inputs and involved in regulating the cell cycle during this early stage of wing development. This research is expected to provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms governing proportional growth and organ patterning, which has implications for understanding developmental abnormalities.