The goals of my lab are to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving organ regeneration. To do this, we study one of the champion regenerators of the animal kingdom, planarian flatworms. Injury stimulates these cells to divide, resulting in rapid tissue regeneration. We aim to understand how stem cells produce differentiated cells that coalesce to form functional organs, in an animal where regeneration proceeds without inhibition. We use genetic tools such as next-generation sequencing and RNA interference combined with cell biological and behavioral analysis to dissect how cells coordinate their activity to regenerate individual organs.

• PhD, University of California, San Francisco, 2005
• BA, Wesleyan University, 1996