Current Research

Topic: Organoids

Contributing Trainees: Rocky Diegmiller, Caroline Doherty

The overarching goal of our work is to understand collective dynamics in clusters of cells joined by stable cytoplasmic bridges, which are critical for the growth of transcriptionally quiescent oocytes in multiple organisms. Fundamental studies and medical research motivated by human fertility defects continue to reveal molecular and cellular features of the germline cell clusters (cysts), but our understanding of the mechanisms essential for the ultimate success of their development is rudimentary at best. Capitalizing on the highly conserved nature of germline development, we are using Drosophila as a system amenable to highly integrated combination of genetic and imaging experiments and theory to establish predictive computational models accounting for multiple stages of germline development, from the first divisions of a single germline stem cell, to collective dynamics within growing cysts and their interactions with supporting soma.