Andrew J. Spracklen

Actin Cytoskeleton & Cell Adhesion during Development

One of the most fascinating things in all of biology is the ability of a single cell (the zygote) to give rise to an organism consisting of thousands, millions, or even trillions of cells organized into defined tissues. My research interests are focused on understanding how cells regulate their actin cytoskeletons to change shape, generate force, and move. I am particularly interested in how small adaptor proteins (e.g., Crk) and their downstream effectors (e.g., Abelson tyrosine kinase, Arp2/3, SCAR) work to properly coordinate changes in the actin cytoskeleton and cell adhesion during normal embryonic development. To pursue these interests, I have leveraged the full suite of cell biological and genetic tools afforded by Drosophila melanogaster, including quantitative live imaging and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering.