Gastrulation is a key structural transition in the growth and development of the vertebrate embryo. The developmental processes involved share common features across a diverse array of organisms, so much can be learned about embryogenesis in humans from the study of model organisms such as the mouse and the chick. Very recently it has become possible to track individual cell movements in chick embryos during gastrulation. The aim of this proposal is to construct an individual-based modular theory of cell movement which will allow direct interpretation of this data. The investigators will start with the simplest biologically plausible model and add new features (such as additional morphogens and chemical signals, or more finely differentiated cell types), continually confronting the models to experimental data within a close-knit theory/experiment collaboration. With the data constraining the models, and the models suggesting possible scenarios which can then be experimentally tested, the investigators hope to initiate a more complete and soundly based understanding of gastrulation. They will focus their modeling efforts on fundamental developmental processes in the chick embryo, in particular the formation of Koller's sickle, progression of the primitive streak, and ingression of mesodermal cells through the streak.
The investigators will integrate this research program with both graduate and undergraduate research projects. This will allow students exposure to and involvement in a wide-ranging international and multidisciplinary research effort involving new theoretical ideas and direct experimental application. The proposed research meshes well with Arizona State University's rapidly growing interdisciplinary biophysics program which successfully attracts both female and minority students. The investigators will use this work as a central component of two outreach programs: one designed to emphasize how advances in the life sciences can arise through interdisciplinary research; the other to encourage high school students from under-represented groups in the Phoenix area to pursue careers in science.
