The long-term goal of our research is to investigate the mechanisms that control cell communication during metazoan development, focusing on pathways that control organ growth and tissue patterning. The study of signaling pathways has been transformed from mapping linear chains of events to exploring the connections between interacting networks. Our laboratory is applying the tools of network biology, such as proteomics and mapping protein interactions, to the analysis of developmental signaling mechanisms.

Our research is facilitated by using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental system. We use a combination of cutting-edge proteomics, imaging, genetics, and biochemistry to investigate developmental signaling.

Dysregulation of cell communication pathways results in developmental abnormalities and is the cause of multiple human diseases. Understanding the ways that cells use to receive and interpret signals from their neighbors holds a promise of bringing us closer to relevant therapies and being able to create new cellular functions with desired properties.