Home of Early Embrogenesis Laboratory

Our lab studies how mesoderm cells form and differentiate during vertebrate development, using the chick as the main model organism. The mesoderm is one of three germ layers generated at very early stages of animal development, and gives rise to important cell lineages such as, blood, muscles and bones. Our research currently focuses on two aspects of mesoderm development: 1) the formation and early regionalization of mesoderm cells during gastrulation; 2) the differentiation of several ventral-most mesoderm cell types.

Mesoderm cells are derived from ectoderm cells during gastrulation through a process called epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). During EMT, mesoderm cells leave epithelial-shaped ectoderm sheet and become migratory. We are interested in understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms governing this EMT process and try to use this model to understand how other EMTs, many of which playing important roles in cancer and fibrosis, are regulated.

After their formation, mesoderm cells give rise to five broadly defined lineages along the dorso-ventral animal body axis: axial, paraxial, intermediate, lateral plate and extraembryonic. The ventral-most, extraembryonic, lineage contains three main cell types: blood, endothelial and smooth muscle cells. We are investigating how these three cell types are specified and how they are organized to form functional hematopoietic and vascular systems.