My lab is interested in how organ form and function emerge during development. Areas of investigation include: how is organ size and shape controlled; how is cell and tissue polarity established; what makes cells become different and adopt specialised functions; and, how do these functions integrate to produce the emergent properties of the organ. We focus on simple organs in Drosophila, which have the advantage of being easy to manipulate experimentally yet share many features with the more complex organs found in vertebrates. Our goal is to reveal fundamental aspects of organogenesis and apply this knowledge to help us understand the organs of our own body, and how they go wrong in disease.

Funded by: Wellcome Trust, BBSRC

http://www.ed.ac.uk/integrative-physiology/staff-profiles/research-groups/barry-denholm