Ava Brent

I am a Lecturer in Biological Sciences at Columbia University, where I teach courses on anatomy and physiology focusing on the connections between structure and function, and how the organization of the human body reflects both its developmental origins and evolutionary history.

I have always been fascinated by the miracle of how embryos assemble, the remarkable choreography by which cells self-organize into tissues, organs, and entire organisms, and how shifts in developmental programs over evolutionary time have given rise to the diversity of vertebrate form and function observed today.

My research in the Mansfield Lab focuses on understanding how the various components of the vertebrate axial musculoskeletal system are specified and organized during embryonic development, and how these processes have been modified over the course of evolution. I also study how somites, transient structures that arise during embryonic development, give rise to different cell types including cartilage, muscle, tendon, and brown adipose tissue, and how their patterning and differentiation contribute to the formation and integration of the musculoskeletal system.

I received my B.A. in Biology from Columbia University and my Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University

October 2025