Our laboratory is interested in how cells interact with each other during tissue morphogenesis and remodeling. Cell-cell interactions are mediated by cell-cell adhesion and cytoskeletal proteins that coordinate cell movement during gastrulation or epithelial tube formation. Aberrant loss of cell-cell adhesion leads to unrestricted cell movement that allows invasion into other tissues, a key step in progression of metastatic cancer. While cells in isolation have been extensively studied, their multi-cellular behavior still remains ambiguous. This is primarily due to the complexity of molecular interactions, signaling and cytoskeletal reorganization that results from cell-cell adhesion. Our focus is to understand molecular mechanisms of cell-cell adhesion and cytoskeletal organization that dictate the coordinate behavior of cells in tissues and organs.
