Cellular and molecular regulation of early brain development

The remodelling of cell shape and cell-cell junctions is of fundamental importance during the morphogenesis of many body organs. As well as being critical to building an embryo, misregulation of these processes may underlie serious disease states such as cancer, where cell behaviour is remodelled with potentially disastrous consequences. Professor Clarke aims to understand the cell biology of individual cells in the relatively complex environment of a living embryo's brain. Specifically, he will address how progenitor-cell shape and connectivity are remodelled during the morphogenesis and neurogenesis of the brain. The development of neuron morphology is of fundamental importance as it is one of the major factors that can contribute to neuronal connectivity and hence brain function.