Research Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Our lab uses the embryo of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a simple model to understand how cell interactions and movements shape the developing body plan. As in many organisms, cells in the early C. elegans embryo polarize in response to cell–cell contacts. Polarity in early C. elegans cells provides a foundation for subsequent cytoskeletal asymmetries that direct the cell movements of gastrulation, which puts cells of the correct type in the appropriate position within the embryo. Following gastrulation, cells assemble together to form organs, which are sculpted into their final form.
We study each of these processes in our lab:
Understanding how cell contacts induce polarity in early embryonic cells: we have identified a signaling pathway that translates cell contact cues into cell polarity by regulating the spatial activity of Rho GTPases.
Learning how gastrulation movements are triggered in specific cells: we have found that primordial germ cells employ a unique “hitchhiking” mechanism, regulated by E-cadherin, that enables them to be pulled into the embryo during gastrulation.
Uncovering how the various cell types of an organ assemble together: we have examined the assembly of the primordial gonad as a simple model for organogenesis. The primordial gonad contains two germ cells and two somatic gonad cells, which undergo an elaborate assembly process that includes migration, stopping, pseudopod extension, and wrapping. We have uncovered a surprising intercellular cannibalism event that helps to sculpt cells in the gonad.
Investigating how epithelial cells and tubes form during organogenesis: we have identified roles for partitioning defective proteins PAR-3 and PAR-6 in epithelial cell polarization and junction assembly, and have shown that PAR proteins cooperate with the vesicle-tethering exocyst complex to regulate lumen formation in a single-celled tube.
Research Professor, Department of Cell Biology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
PhD from University of Arizona
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Priess lab
Developmental biology (Orlando). 2024 Jul; 511:12-25
Genetics. 2023 Nov 01; 225(3):
Development. 2023 Aug 15; 150(16):
eLife. 2021 Mar 09; 10:
Developmental cell. 2020 May 04; 53(3):261-262
Genetics. 2020 Apr; 214(4):941-959
Current biology. CB. 2020 Feb 24; 30(4):708-714.e4