Assistant Professor
About
Research Interests
As we grow from a single cell to a fetus and ultimately to an adult, our organs are sculpted into architectures exquisitely matched to their functions. In the Huycke Lab, we view cells as the engineers of these complex structures, and our mission is to unravel the blueprints they follow. To do so, we explore organ morphogenesis - the acquisition of shape and size - across scales. In particular we are interested in how cells in the developing gastrointestinal tract self-organize to generate tissue compartments harboring stem and progenitor cell domains that are essential to organ function. Using cutting-edge microscopy to live image tissues and organoids (in vitro miniature organs), transgenic mouse models, and quantitative genetic and mechanical assays, we investigate how molecular signals and physical forces converge on the cell to shape these tissue structures during development and rebuild them following damage. Moreover, we seek to understand why these processes break down in diseases where tissue structure and function are compromised. By using the embryo to decode the design principles of tissue form, our work can be applied to engineer more true-to-form organoids, catalyze tissue regeneration, or reinforce healthy tissue architecture in diseases like cancer and IBD.
