Our lab seeks to understand how cells coordinate differentiation and spatial organization to form and maintain functional tissues and organs. Decades of research have identified diverse signal-producing and -receiving cells within the body allowing our cells to organize. When signal spreading is disrupted, it can result in developmental disorders, tissue degeneration, and cancers. Fundamentally, we still know little of the mechanisms of how these signaling ligands spread to coordinate all these events. Our research focuses on contact-based intercellular signaling by long specialized signaling filopodia called cytonemes. In the lab we develop and use new tissue handling and microscopy protocols to study cytonemes and their cargo proteins. Using these approaches, we are seeing where and how cytonemes facilitate intercellular protein movement for cell-cell communication. By learning more about cytoneme biology we are beginning to understand how defects in cytoneme-mediated signaling contributes to developmental disorders and potentially tumor-stroma signaling.
Current available research projects in the lab include,
1) Identifying the molecular mechanisms of how cytonemes form and are regulated.
2) Detecting cytonemes in the developing and adult tissue.
3) Developing new tissue preservation and imaging methods to better study cytonemes.
Students interested in the new field of cytoneme biology will learn techniques in:
-Multiple light microscopy approaches.
-Machine learning based bioimage analysis.
-Biochemistry and molecular cellular assays.
-Cell culture and mouse embryology techniques.
Interested candidates should hold (or soon to hold) a B.Sc. or MSc. in biology or a related discipline. Candidates should have interests in cell signaling, have good problem-solving skills, and can work independently. Previous experience with mouse husbandry is beneficial. Please submit a letter with statement of research interests, CV including research experience, transcripts and contact details for 2 references by email.
