The research at the Institute of Cell Biology is aimed at understanding the control over cell differentiation, cell proliferation, cell fate maintenance, cell migration, and the dynamics and organisation of the cytoskeleton in cell and tissue morphogenesis. These biological processes are at the basis of normal and defective organ development, inflammation and the cellular response to infection.
We explore those topics employing advanced image acquisition, image processing software, and modern optogenetic tools, in conjunction with state-of-the-art genetic approaches. The biological processes we study include primordial germ cells development in zebrafish (D. rerio) embryos (Raz group), heart development in zebrafish (Gunawan group), development and role of the vascular and lymphatic system in the gonad of zebrafish and humans (Bornhorst-Ohmstede group), and developing tissues and organs in the fruit fly (D. melanogaster) (Matis group).