Research
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Current projects
Past projects
Cell-cycle Dependent Initial Cell-type choice
When an embryo starts growing, how do the cells decide what type of cell to become (bone, muscle, nerve, etc.)? We found a simple and elegant mechanism that lets a population of cells break symmetry and differentiate into separate cell types.
Cell Density Sensing
After a mechanism such as the one described above generates different cell types, how does the system sense the relative proportions of the different cell types? We found that by using secreted signals, cells can sense the composition of a tissue that contains a variety of cell types.
Cell Number Counting
After a tissue forms, with the composition of the tissue regulated by the two mechanisms described above, what regulates the size of a tissue? A secreted signal can be used to sense the number of cells in a group. If the group is too large, the signal can either stop cell proliferation or, by increasing random motility and/or decreasing adhesion, cause the group to break into smaller groups. We used a combination of genetics, biochemistry, and computer simulations to uncover a simple and elegant mechanism that developing Dictyostelium cells use to form groups of ~20,000 cells.
Exotic Star Binaries
Accretion disks are made of gas orbiting and falling into a central mass. Disks are found around the central massive black hole in quasars. When a disk forms around a star, it can condense into planets. In collaboration with Dr. Keith Horne of the University of St. Andrews, we studied the flow of gas in accretion disks in binary star systems when the accreting object is a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole.
Shotgun Antisense
We developed a widely-applicable genetic tool we called shotgun antisense that allows us to identify an interesting mutant in the morning, and start sequencing the gene’s DNA in the afternoon.