Our lab studies how cells communicate with one another, a process that regulates nearly all aspects of animal development and, when damaged, leads to many diseases including cancer. Transmembrane proteins are essential for this process - they transmit fate signals from the cell's external environment to its interior. We are studying the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms that regulate transmembrane protein activity in cell fate pathways. A better understanding of these processes will help us to therapeutically manage birth defects, regenerative disorders, and malignancies.