CCB Colloquium: Stefano Di Talia

Guest Presenter:
Stefano Di Talia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Duke University School of Medicine

Topic: Waves and flows in embryogenesis and regeneration

Abstract: Embryonic development and tissue regeneration both require a high degree of spatiotemporal coordination. I will describe my lab efforts to understand the synchronization of the cell cycle in early Drosophila embryos and the coordination of tissue growth in zebrafish bone regeneration. I will show how synchronization of the cell cycle in Drosophila embryo is linked to precise nuclear positioning, which is in turn driven by cytoplasmic flows generated by actomyosin cortical contractions. I will also show that excitable waves of Erk activity drive cell and tissue growth in the osteoblast population controlling zebrafish scale regeneration.