Description of Research Expertise

The goal of our lab is to develop and apply advanced microscopy technologies to visualize and quantify the dynamic processes that underly the regulation of gene expression during early embryonic development. Our favorite tool is high-resolution light-sheet microscopy which allows us to probe a vast range of spatial and temporal scales within living embryos (so far in Mice, Drosophila, and C. elegans). For example, we can acquire data on patterns of gene expression at embryonic scales, high-speed and multi-color volumetric data to quantify chromatin dynamics and the distribution of protein domains associated with gene activation or repression, and single molecule tracking data to quantify the kinetics of individual transcription factors as they search for and bind to their genomic targets. We apply these advanced imaging approaches along with biophysical modelling, genomics, and gene editing to studies within the areas of: (1) How protein-protein interactions shape nuclear organization and the ability of transcription factors to find their targets efficiently, (2) How nuclear organization changes during embryonic development and how this influences gene expression, and (3) How different disordered domains within proteins enable specialized functions. Our vision is to utilize quantitative data in combination with mechanistic modelling to develop new strategies to specifically manipulate nuclear organization and transcriptional regulation to achieve desired phenotypes. The insights gained through these projects will not only lead to an improved understanding of one of life’s fundamental processes, transcription, but will also open new doors for correcting transcription when it goes awry.