https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3829-0168
Research Interests
ur laboratory is interested in studying how basic cellular processes define the shape and size of complex multicellular structures such as organs. Fluid movement into enclosed lumenal or intracellular spaces creates hydrostatic pressure that can serve as a driving force for organogenesis and long range morphogenetic events such as axis elongation.
Our major focus is to study how biological tubes are assembled and to understand the role hydrostatic pressure plays as a developmental force.
Using zebrafish we investigate:
1) Regulation of fluid secretion and the role of fluid pressure in organogenesis.
2) Role of Lysosome Rich Enterocytes (LREs) in protein absorption and physiology.
3) The biogenesis and function of fluid-filled vacuoles in the notochord during embryogenesis and spine morphogenesis.
4) Cellular mechanisms controlling epithelial polarization and lumen formation in the gut tube.
Our major focus is to study how biological tubes are assembled and to understand the role hydrostatic pressure plays as a developmental force.
Using zebrafish we investigate:
1) Regulation of fluid secretion and the role of fluid pressure in organogenesis.
2) Role of Lysosome Rich Enterocytes (LREs) in protein absorption and physiology.
3) The biogenesis and function of fluid-filled vacuoles in the notochord during embryogenesis and spine morphogenesis.
4) Cellular mechanisms controlling epithelial polarization and lumen formation in the gut tube.
Selected Grants
Genetics and Genomics Training Grant
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2026 - 2031Transcriptional and environmental regulation of lysosome-rich enterocytes
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2026 - 2031Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences · 2026 - 2031Dissecting the Signaling and Cellular Mechanisms of Notochord Patterning In Zebrafish
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2025 - 2030Investigating Endocytic Mechanisms in Lysosome Rich Enterocytes
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2024 - 2029Regulation of notochord vacuole biogenesis: investigating its role in spine formation and IVD Biology
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases · 2024 - 2028Investigating mechanisms of cell volume regulation in the zebrafish notochord
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences · 2024 - 2028Duke Training Grant in Digestive Diseases and Nutrition
Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Mentor · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 1988 - 2027Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2001 - 2027Developmental regulation of epithelial polarization by pre-mRNA splicing
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2023 - 2026High-content behavioral phenotyping of model organisms in three dimensions with a gigapixel microscope
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Ramona Optics, Inc. · 2024 - 2026External Relationships
- I am part of an invention disclosure for a software platform that may be licensed in the future.
This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.