We tackle important unresolved Cell Signaling problems: (i) How circadian and cell-cycle rhythms control cell differentiation, (ii) How proliferation and differentiation are coordinated to control tissue size, (iii) How cells decide whether to proliferate or enter quiescence or senescence, and (iv) How cells decide whether to polarize and move.

Our mission is to Discover fundamental molecular signaling mechanisms that control cell function and Teach the next generation of leaders in cell signaling research. While our work is basic in nature, we seek to apply findings by identifying drug combinations that solve therapeutic challenges in the treatment of obesity and cancer.

We are using cutting edge Microscopy, photolitography and RNA-Seq technologies to understand signaling processes. We study signaling in cultured human and mouse models, organoids, and mice. How signals control fate and function can only be understood by monitoring and perturbing the relevant signals in live cells.

We are an Interdisciplinary Team of graduate students, postdocs, and research staff with diverse quantitative and biology backgrounds. We are supportive, inclusive, curious, and open to learn. We are fascinated by the awesome power of fluorescent microscopy and single-cell approaches to teach us how dynamic signals control cell fate and function.

Recent Highlights: The circadian clock periodically restricts cell-differentiation, 2022 PNAS; Role of Cdc7 in controlling the G1/S transition, 2022 Nature; Molecular mechanism of the early enforcement of cell identity during differentiation, 2022 Plos Biol; The actin cortex restricts local membrane protrusions and directs cell migration, 2020 Science.

Read about the people that Join The Lab, the accomplishments of our students and postdocs, the scientific meetings we are attending, whats going on in Weill Cornell and the adjacent MSK and Rockefeller campuses, and the fun we are having working in an interdisciplinary research environment and being in the middle of Manhattan, New York.