In our bodies, we have millions of different environments in which cells reside, which are known as cellular or tissue microenvironments. These specialized tissue microenvironments instruct the fate and behaviors of cells. The aim of our lab is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the ways in which tissue microenvironments are regionally specialized, and how these specialized microenvironments in turn instruct cell behavior, cell-cell communication, and organ formation. Our projects are focused on understanding 1) the extrinsic regulation of stem cells and 2) the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) heterogeneity in organogenesis, using mammalian skin as a model. A more in depth knowledge of these mutually related research focuses will provide a molecular basis to further understand how microenvironments regulate stem cells and organ formation, and for developing tailor-made microenvironments for different lineages of stem cells in the skin.