The organization of cells into epithelial layers is the fundamental structural context for understanding animal development and evolution.  The Gibson lab employs a wide range of technical approaches to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that direct the growth of epithelial tissue and coordinate epithelial cell mitosis with the maintenance of polarized tissue architecture in vivo.

Our research plan leverages  two model organisms: the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis.  We take advantage of Drosophila’s highly developed genetic toolkit to functionally interrogate the regulation of epithelial cell shape and proliferation while capitalizing on Nematostella’s advantageous phylogenetic position to develop a comparative and evolutionary perspective on epithelial growth, patterning, and morphogenesis.