How a single cell develops into an extraordinarily complex adult is far from understood. Current dogma holds that genes are central to understanding the embryo; however, genetics alone cannot account for the diversity of patterns and tissues that exist in our world. All cells in the embryo inherit the same nuclear DNA, although a skin cell and liver cell have dramatically different histories and functions. Cell behaviors – especially interactions among cell groups – are key pieces of the puzzle.
Incredibly complex shapes that support physiological functions, like branches in the lungs, folds in the intestines, and chambers in the heart, are built during development. These processes require precisely coordinated cell behaviors, and absence of this coordination underlies structural birth defects and tumorigenesis. Despite the central role that cell rearrangements play in embryonic development, the cellular and molecular events driving tissue remodeling in mammals are poorly understood.
Nearly all birth defects occur in tissues that undergo epithelial remodeling; however, a comprehensive understanding of their etiology, or underlying cause, has been constrained by the scarcity of live-imaging tools available in mammalian embryos.
We innovate methods to track cell behaviors in live mouse embryos, utilizing multi-scale approaches from subcellular to organismal levels to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms of morphogenesis.
Our goal is to identify fundamental principles of cell behavior in embryonic development by asking how cells behave in embryos, how these behaviors are parsed in complex environments, and how global tissue patterns emerge from local cell interactions. Our findings will ultimately contribute to the treatment and prevention of diseases and birth defects.
