UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Nathan Young, PhD

Assistant Professor

Basic Science

2550 23rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-206-8812
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Education

Postdoctoral Studies	University of California, San Francisco	2007
Postdoctoral Studies	Stanford University	2006
Postdoctoral Studies	University of Calgary	2004
Ph.D.	Harvard University	2003
B.A.	New College of Florida	1995

Publications

Young NM. Integrating "Evo" and "Devo": The Limb as Model Structure. Integr Comp Biol. 2017 Dec 01; 57(6):1293-1302. PMID: 28992180

Young NM, Linde-Medina M, Fondon JW, Hallgrímsson B, Marcucio RS. Craniofacial diversification in the domestic pigeon and the evolution of the avian skull. Nat Ecol Evol. 2017 Mar 13; 1(4):95. PMID: 28812673

Young NM, Sherathiya K, Gutierrez L, Nguyen E, Bekmezian S, Huang JC, Hallgrímsson B, Lee JS, Marcucio RS. Facial surface morphology predicts variation in internal skeletal shape. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2016 Apr; 149(4):501-8. PMID: 27021454

Young NM, Capellini TD, Roach NT, Alemseged Z. Reply to Almécija: A new direction for reconstructing our last common ancestor with chimpanzees. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Feb 23; 113(8):E945. PMID: 26862164

Young NM, Capellini TD, Roach NT, Alemseged Z. Reply to Melillo: Woranso-Mille is consistent with an australopithecine shoulder intermediate between African apes and Homo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Dec 29; 112(52):E7160. PMID: 26676585

Hallgrimsson B, Percival CJ, Green R, Young NM, Mio W, Marcucio R. Morphometrics, 3D Imaging, and Craniofacial Development. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2015; 115:561-97. PMID: 26589938

Marcucio R, Hallgrimsson B, Young NM. Facial Morphogenesis: Physical and Molecular Interactions Between the Brain and the Face. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2015; 115:299-320. PMID: 26589930

Young NM, Capellini TD, Roach NT, Alemseged Z. Fossil hominin shoulders support an African ape-like last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Sep 22; 112(38):11829-34. PMID: 26351685

Hu D, Young NM, Xu Q, Jamniczky H, Green RM, Mio W, Marcucio RS, Hallgrimsson B. Signals from the brain induce variation in avian facial shape. Dev Dyn. 2015 Apr 22. PMID: 25903813

Young NM, Winslow B, Takkellapati S, Kavanagh K. Shared rules of development predict patterns of evolution in vertebrate segmentation. Nat Commun. 2015 Apr 01; 6:6690. PMID: 25827599

Smith FJ, Percival CJ, Young NM, Hu D, Schneider RA, Marcucio RS, Hallgrimsson B. Divergence of craniofacial developmental trajectories among avian embryos. Dev Dyn. 2015 Feb 19. PMID: 25703037

Hu D, Young NM, Li X, Xu Y, Hallgrímsson B, Marcucio RS. A dynamic Shh expression pattern, regulated by SHH and BMP signaling, coordinates fusion of primordia in the amniote face. Development. 2015 Feb 01; 142(3):567-74. PMID: 25605783

Young NM, Hu D, Lainoff AJ, Smith FJ, Diaz R, Tucker AS, Trainor PA, Schneider RA, Hallgrímsson B, Marcucio RS. Embryonic bauplans and the developmental origins of facial diversity and constraint. Development. 2014 Mar; 141(5):1059-63. PMID: 24550113

Young NM. Macroevolutionary diversity of amniote limb proportions predicted by developmental interactions. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2013 Nov; 320(7):420-7. PMID: 23913472

Li X, Young NM, Tropp S, Hu D, Xu Y, Hallgrímsson B, Marcucio RS. Quantification of shape and cell polarity reveals a novel mechanism underlying malformations resulting from related FGF mutations during facial morphogenesis. Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Dec 20; 22(25):5160-72. PMID: 23906837

Smith F, Hu D, Young NM, Lainoff AJ, Jamniczky HA, Maltepe E, Hallgrimsson B, Marcucio RS. The effect of hypoxia on facial shape variation and disease phenotypes in chicken embryos. Dis Model Mech. 2013 Jul; 6(4):915-24. PMID: 23592613

Hallgrímsson B, Jamniczky HA, Young NM, Rolian C, Schmidt-Ott U, Marcucio RS. The generation of variation and the developmental basis for evolutionary novelty. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2012 Sep; 318(6):501-17. PMID: 22649039

Chong HJ, Young NM, Hu D, Jeong J, McMahon AP, Hallgrimsson B, Marcucio RS. Signaling by SHH rescues facial defects following blockade in the brain. Dev Dyn. 2012 Feb; 241(2):247-56. PMID: 22275045

Marcucio RS, Young NM, Hu D, Hallgrimsson B. Mechanisms that underlie co-variation of the brain and face. Genesis. 2011 Apr; 49(4):177-89. PMID: 21381182

Young NM, Chong HJ, Hu D, Hallgrímsson B, Marcucio RS. Quantitative analyses link modulation of sonic hedgehog signaling to continuous variation in facial growth and shape. Development. 2010 Oct; 137(20):3405-9. PMID: 20826528

Young NM, Wagner GP, Hallgrímsson B. Development and the evolvability of human limbs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Feb 23; 107(8):3400-5. PMID: 20133636

Brugmann SA, Powder KE, Young NM, Goodnough LH, Hahn SM, James AW, Helms JA, Lovett M. Comparative gene expression analysis of avian embryonic facial structures reveals new candidates for human craniofacial disorders. Hum Mol Genet. 2010 Mar 01; 19(5):920-30. PMID: 20015954

Hallgrímsson B, Jamniczky H, Young NM, Rolian C, Parsons TE, Boughner JC, Marcucio RS. Deciphering the Palimpsest: Studying the Relationship Between Morphological Integration and Phenotypic Covariation. Evol Biol. 2009 Dec; 36(4):355-376. PMID: 23293400

Boughner JC, Wat S, Diewert VM, Young NM, Browder LW, Hallgrímsson B. Short-faced mice and developmental interactions between the brain and the face. J Anat. 2008 Dec; 213(6):646-62. PMID: 19094181

Young NM. A comparison of the ontogeny of shape variation in the anthropoid scapula: functional and phylogenetic signal. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2008 Jul; 136(3):247-64. PMID: 18324623

Young NM, Wat S, Diewert VM, Browder LW, Hallgrímsson B. Comparative morphometrics of embryonic facial morphogenesis: implications for cleft-lip etiology. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2007 Jan; 290(1):123-39. PMID: 17441205

Hallgrimsson B, Lieberman DE, Young NM, Parsons T, Wat S. Evolution of covariance in the mammalian skull. Novartis Found Symp. 2007; 284:164-85; discussion 185-90. PMID: 17710853

Young NM. Function, ontogeny and canalization of shape variance in the primate scapula. J Anat. 2006 Nov; 209(5):623-36. PMID: 17062020

Steiper ME, Young NM. Primate molecular divergence dates. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2006 Nov; 41(2):384-94. PMID: 16815047

Willmore KE, Zelditch ML, Young N, Ah-Seng A, Lozanoff S, Hallgrímsson B. Canalization and developmental stability in the Brachyrrhine mouse. J Anat. 2006 Mar; 208(3):361-72. PMID: 16533318

Young NM, Hallgrímsson B. Serial homology and the evolution of mammalian limb covariation structure. Evolution. 2005 Dec; 59(12):2691-704. PMID: 16526515

Steiper ME, Young NM, Sukarna TY. Genomic data support the hominoid slowdown and an Early Oligocene estimate for the hominoid-cercopithecoid divergence. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec 07; 101(49):17021-6. PMID: 15572456

Young N. Modularity and integration in the hominoid scapula. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2004 May 15; 302(3):226-40. PMID: 15211684

Young NM, MacLatchy L. The phylogenetic position of Morotopithecus. J Hum Evol. 2004 Feb; 46(2):163-84. PMID: 14871561

Young NM. A reassessment of living hominoid postcranial variability: implications for ape evolution. J Hum Evol. 2003 Dec; 45(6):441-64. PMID: 14643673

Grants & Awards

2009, A Molecular Investigation of Growth and Shape Variation in Cleft-Lip Etiology, F32DE018596

Membership & Committees

About Nathan Young, PhD

In my research, I approach basic biomedical questions both through an evolutionary approach to variation (i.e., population-thinking) and utilizing functional compromise and historical constraint as fundamental explanatory principles. When combined with mechanistic insights from experimental systems, this approach yields significant insights into the generation of individual phenotypes, both normal and abnormal. To accomplish this goal I have developed a research program that combines classical embryology, modern experimental and genetic tools, and advanced methods for quantifying and comparing phenotypes at a range of scales. This approach has significance for understanding not only the processes that contribute to and constrain evolutionary diversity, but also the individual phenotypic differences found within species and among individuals, including dysmorphologies associated with human disease states. My research therefore includes the study of normal mechanisms of development as well as the etiology of congenital developmental defects, and is strongly relevant to longstanding goals of providing personalized and predictive medicine.