Dr. Lisa Taneyhill has been awarded a $1.9 million from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH (NIDCR/NIH) for her R01 grant proposal entitled, “Neural crest and placode cell interactions during cranial gangliogenesis.”
In this proposal,
Dr. Taneyhill and her colleagues aim to elucidate how two different cell types migrate, adhere, and coalesce together in the developing chick embryo to form the cranial ganglia, which are responsible for integrating sensory information and controlling cell movements. These processes are mediated by specific junctional complexes, which serve as the “glue” to hold cells together and allow for cell-cell communication. Importantly, such intercellular interactions are critical throughout embryonic and adult development to form new tissues and organs, with aberrations resulting in animal and human diseases. The results of this research will form a framework for understanding cellular behavior during the formation of other tissues comprising several cell types and will have direct translational applications to therapies based on tissue growth or organ repair and/or regeneration.
