Dynamics of morphogenesis

Our approach

We use quantitative live imaging techniques to understand how tissue forms in real time. By applying these technologies to developing avian embryos and human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, we investigate how molecular and cellular properties and mechanical forces direct neural tube morphogenesis.

Research areas

Many genes have been associated with neural tube defects but it remains unclear how they affect neural tube morphogenesis in real time. We use live imaging approaches to understand the dynamic processes that form the neural tube and how disruption of these leads to some of the most common human birth defects.

The actomyosin remodelling powers the cell movements that generate many tissues. Mutations associated with human neural tube defects often disrupt the actin cytoskeleton so we are interested in how actin networks are remodelled during neural tube formation and which are the key molecules controlling this.

Embryonic development requires the coordination of biochemical patterning and morphogenetic movements. Mechanical stimuli generated by morphogenesis are converted to biochemical signals by mechanotransduction pathways, which in turn regulate cellular properties and cell fate specification. We are interested in how mechanotransduction directs neural tube formation and neural cell fate.