In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
My lab uses the insect renal system (Malpighian tubule and nephrocytes) as simple models to study how mechanisms of tissue generation are regulated and integrated to produce physiologically competent organs. Our research themes include: cell differentiation; cell communication; tissue patterning; tissue morphogenesis; cell and tissue physiology; development and function of transporting epithelia; insect models for human disease; and organ evolution. Our work was uncovered basic principles of organogenesis—including those relevant to humans—and established a new model (the nephrocyte) to study the glomerular filtration apparatus, subsequently adopted by many laboratories worldwide.