Development is commonly associated with growth, differentiation, and self-organization, but removing cells is equally vital for building functional multicellular tissues. Our lab investigates tissue formation and cell fate regulation, with a focus on cell elimination during mammalian organogenesis.

The embryo has the remarkable capability to shape tissues, delete transient structures, and control cell number and quality through cell death followed by clearance of the remnants. While these processes are required for healthy development, they remain challenging to study because cells can disappear seemingly without a trace. We develop strategies that allow us to track elimination events and understand why and how cells undergo this fate across various organs, how tissues maintain their integrity, and how the failure to remove cells contributes to developmental defects and diseases.

Our lab combines quantitative cell-tracking approaches with single-cell transcriptomic techniques to systematically uncover the spectrum of elimination events and determine how cell selection is influenced by the tissue context. We further study the underlying spatial-temporal regulation and explore the consequences in vivo when elimination fails. Using organoid models, our goal is to mechanistically understand how cells destined for removal are sensed and subsequently cleared. Through multiscale analyses, we bridge cellular processes with tissue and organismal dynamics to unravel how tissues emerge.

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Julia Batki