Epithelial morphogenesis and repair

Epithelia are sheets of cells that form a protective barrier, separating an organism or tissue from its surrounding environment. We are interested in understanding how epithelial sheets are assembled during embryonic development and how they are repaired after wounding. At various stages of embryonic development, epithelial sheets fuse with one another and these events bear striking similarities with epithelial wound healing, suggesting that developmental processes are reactivated in order to repair damaged tissue. Our research is focused on understanding how migration and fusion of epithelial cells is controlled during development and repair.

Most of our work is done with the fruit fly Drosophila, as it is amenable to genetic techniques as well as live imaging. To investigate epithelial migration and fusion during morphogenesis, we study a process called dorsal closure, an event that occurs during Drosophila embryonic development. During dorsal closure, two epithelial sheets move towards one another over the dorsal surface of the embryo and fuse when they meet at the dorsal midline. To investigate epithelial repair we wound Drosophila embryos with a laser and study the healing process.

For more detailed information about research currently underway in the lab, see the Research page.

Millard Lab Homepage

Drosophila embryo undergoing Dorsal closure

Fluorescently labelled Drosophila embryos

Wound healing in a Drosophila embryo