Morphogenesis is an inherently mechanical event. Tissues move tremendous distances within the early embryo to generate the vertebrate body plan. Cells and tissues accomplish this feat through the use of patterned cell motility. We are focusing on several general questions such as:

What molecules regulate, modulate, and dictate cell behaviors?

How do cell behaviors, such as mediolateral cell intercalation or radial intercalation, generate force?

How do cells within a tissue determine the stiffness and force generation capacities of that tissue?

How are the forces and tissue stiffnesses arranged in the embryo, and how do these arrangements bring about the early large-scale tissue movements of gastrulation and neurulation?

To answer these questions involve the application of several different techniques from high resolution imaging of cell behaviors using low-light digital microscopy, conventional and multiphoton timelapse confocal microscopy coordinated with the measurement of tissue stiffness and force generation.

Several approaches to understanding biomechanics in embryonic tissues.
	Histowiggling tissues to measure stiffness and force generation.
	Confocal timelapse sequences
	Low-light digital microscopy