One goal of this research is to provide an opportunity for the investigator to re-tool his research background and perspective. He is an active cell biologist who has studied recently the last stages of cell division using sea urchin eggs as a model system. Interestingly, an observation his laboratory made on dividing eggs has opened up an opportunity to address an important question in the area of developmental biology. To gain a better understanding and depth in the field of developmental biology and because research will be conducted at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), the investigator will attend one of the best courses in developmental biology: the Embryology: Concepts and Techniques in Modern Developmental Biology course. The research to be done addresses questions about how and when apical-basolateral (inside out) polarity originates in embryos and how the cell's cytoskeleton is regulated to assist in the polarization. The investigator and students will study the role of precocious cell polarity in cells isolated from early sea urchin embryos and how their distinct surfaces play a role in normal development. Single cell surgery, combined with cellular localization studies of proteins thought to control cell polarity will be performed. This research should result in a greater understanding of the mechanisms of precocious embryonic cell polarity and its role in early embryos. Becoming a successful scientist who happens to be Cherokee and raised in Native culture has provided the investigator opportunities to make sure opportunities exist for the next generation of minority scientists. He will continue mentoring and involving American Indian, African American and Hispanic undergraduates in his research and continue working both nationally and locally in the policy arena to help develop opportunities for underrepresented minorities in science.
