Lab members

Maureen Cetera, PhD Maureen returned to the Midwest in 2021 to open the Cetera lab at the University of Minnesota.  Since her graduate training, she has been interested in understanding how cells make collective decisions during morphogenesis. She trained in Dr. Sally Horne-Badovinac's lab at the University of Chicago, where she studied mechanisms coordinating collective cell migration in the Drosophila egg chamber. She switched to the mouse model for her postdoc with Dr. Danelle Devenport at Princeton. There, she investigated how planar cell polarity coordinates the collective cell movements that orient hair follicles and how tissue-scale patterns of collectively oriented hair follicles emerge.  Maureen continues to study mechanisms that organize planar cell polarity in the mammalian skin and investigates how planar cell polarity itself guides collective behaviors in mammalian tissues. She loves living in the Twin Cities and has two young kids who keep her very busy outside of lab. 

Maureen is Course Director of GCD8161- Advanced Cell Biology and Developmental Biology and Co-Course Director of GCD4025 - Cell Biology, Development, and Regeneration Laboratory

Contact: mcetera(at)umn.edu

Zelha Nil, PhD- Senior researcher Zelha is a developmental and protein biologist who is particularly interested in what proteins do, who they do it with, and what happens when things go wrong. During her Ph.D. with Kausik Si, she discovered an unusual mechanism in which amyloid assembly activates an enzyme required for Drosophila embryonic development. During her postdoc with Hugo Bellen, she switched gears to rare human disease, using Drosophila to uncover the functional consequences of patient-identified genetic variants. In the Cetera Lab, Zelha brings biochemistry to the world of planar cell polarity. She studies how PCP proteins are modified, trafficked, and assembled into complexes in developing tissues, while developing new ways to capture their interactions directly in their native environment. 

Evalyn Beall- Graduate student Evalyn grew up in Andover, MN, and received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical and Health Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Evalyn’s overarching research interests focus on investigating human disease pathogenesis using model organisms.  As an undergraduate student, she investigated Spinal Muscular Atrophy progression using a Drosophila model in the lab of Dr. Ashlyn Spring. She continued her work with Drosophila during a summer internship where she investigated muscle recovery after injury in the lab of Dr. Jason Doles. Evalyn joined the Cetera lab in 2023, where she began investigating the role of planar cell polarity signaling in lymphatic network development. Outside of the lab, Evalyn enjoys reading, crocheting, making pottery, and spending time with her husband and two cats. 

Madalene Halley- Graduate student Madalene grew up in Stillwater, MN, and received a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Genomics and Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests broadly include investigating how small genetic changes can severely impact embryogenesis. During undergrad, Madalene conducted research in the Gutierrez lab, Huttenlocher lab, and at the Mayo Clinic, and became very interested in developmental biology her senior year while taking conservation genetics and developmental genetics classes. Madalene joined the Cetera lab in 2023 and began investigating mechanisms that control tissue-level coordination of Planar Cell Polarity through natural variants that alter hair follicle orientation. Outside of the lab, Madalene enjoys hiking, birding, making pottery, and playing video games.

Alex Nichitean- Graduate student Alex is originally from Timisoara, Romania, and received her BSc in Human Embryology and Developmental Biology from Aberdeen University, Scotland. Her research interests include how signaling molecules impact tissue morphogenesis. During her undergraduate studies, she did her honors project in the Erskine lab studying the connection between DSCAM and Slit signaling family members in controlling optic pathway development. Afterward, she earned her Master’s degree from Syracuse University, NY, in the Hall lab, where she researched the effects of early-life stress on germline development in C. elegans. She continued working in the Hall lab as a lab assistant, but shifted to understanding how lipid metabolism and steroid signaling affect fecundity in an animal that has experienced starvation. She then joined the Cetera lab in 2025, where she is investigating the role of planar cell polarity in the collective migration of corneal cells and their nerve innervation. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys D&D, reading, dinner with friends, knitting, and playing video games. 

Vaidehi Pradhan- Undergraduate researcher