How the tissues that form our organs acquire and maintain their proper architecture is a fundamental question in basic research, one of great importance as well when considering a range of developmental and physiological disorders, in particular cancer.
Our group is interested in the cell biological basis of cellular organisation and polarity. We focus on epithelial cells present in most embryonic tissues and in developing organs. In addition we explore the mechanisms of tissue architecture and morphogenesis both of which depend on the precise temporal and spatial control of cell polarity.
We use the drosophila embryo as a model system to address these questions and study how the embryonic epithelium forms, is stabilized and meanwhile changes shape.
The approaches use a combination of genetic, genomic, bio-physical and cell biological techniques, in particular microscopy of living specimens
