Rotation Projects, 2023-2024
1. Niche - Stem Cell interaction projects:
You will use genetic and genome-scale molecular techniques, combined with live-imaging, to identify factors 1) that first specify Niche cells, 2) that organize those cells into a functioning niche, and 3) that regulate the balance between self-renewal and differentiation within the stem cells. Students can dive into functional studies already ongoing in these areas. Come by to see Lauren & Bailey's neat movies of a niche first being formed, as well as Gabby and Liz's beautiful movies of action at a stem cell niche!! As work progresses, we envision collaborative opportunities for work, where students can explore how the concepts we are revealing in this Drosophila system apply to other niche-stem cell systems investigated at Penn.
2. Morphogenesis of a niche projects:
You will ask how signaling pathways control the shape and behaviors of niche cells in the animal, rather than in the contrived environment of a culture dish. You will investigate how cell biological responses are coordinated between niche and associated stem cell. This involves examining the cytoskeletal changes that occur during cell rearrangement in real-time, using live imaging with Spinning Disk Confocal Microscopy (come by and see some of Bailey and Kara's cool movies!). That approach is complemented by in vivo manipulation of target proteins of the key signaling pathways involved - proteins such as small GTPases, polarity proteins or adhesion and cytoskeletal components. In turn, those perturbations are coupled with high resolution imaging techniques to examine the changes at cell-cell interfaces, such as changes to cell bond tension by laser cutting or by FRET/FRAP, to map out how selective alterations of cyto-architecture affect tissue dynamics.