"From Signals to Shapes in Tissue Morphogenesis"

Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, PhD
Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Princeton University

Regulated folding of two-dimensional cell sheets (epithelia) is one of the main mechanisms underlying the emergence of three-dimensional structures of tissues and organs. Mechanisms of epithelial morphogenesis have been highly conserved in evolution and can be largely driven by two-dimensional patterning of mechanical properties of cells comprising the epithelium. My group is interested in establishing quantitative models of epithelial morphogenesis, accounting for multiple layers of regulation, from gene sequence to tissue architecture. I will present some of our recent results in this area, focusing on imaging, modeling, and computational analysis of two-dimensional pattern formation and three-dimensional morphogenesis in the developing Drosophila egg, a powerful system for studying how chemical signals induce complex three-dimensional structures.

The main focus of our work is on the quantitative analysis of development. Our goal is to establish models that connect multiple levels of description, from gene sequence to pattern formation and morphogenesis. We emphasize close coupling between genetic experiments, computations, and theory, and use the fruit fly as an experimental system for model validation.

Faculty host: Hang Lu