In multicellular organisms, cells communicate by using secreted signaling proteins in order to coordinate their overall development and behavior. Our lab combines molecular genetics and engineering to answer these broad questions:

What are the rules of signaling protein assembly?

What are the rules of signaling protein processing?

Can we exploit these rules to engineer new signaling complexes?

We use zebrafish as a vertebrate model to observe and to control the processing and secretion of signaling proteins during animal development and in the brain.