Helen McNeill

Research Synopsis

A central problem in cell and developmental biology is understanding how cells and groups of cells become organized to form organs and tissues. One form of higher organization that is currently under intense investigation is planar cell polarity. Planar cell polarity is the coordinate organization of cells within the plane of a single layered sheet of cells.

Planar polarity is essential for tissue functioning: the planar polarity of the vertebrate inner ear is essential to proper hearing and balance; similarly, planar polarity of the fly eye is essential for accurate vision. We are using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a genetically tractable organism to investigate the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying planar polarity.