Eddy De Robertis trained in embryology with John Gurdon in Cambridge, England and works at UCLA. He has contributed to the realization that antero-posterior and dorso-ventral patterning genes have been conserved throughout animal evolution, founding a new discipline called Evo-Devo. His cloning of the first vertebrate Hox gene in 1984 started a new era in developmental genetics. His work on Chordin provided a paradigm for dorsal-ventral morphogen signaling gradients in animals.