CBE - The Zartman Lab - Multicellular Systems Engineering
The Zartman Lab investigates how tissues grow, organize, and regenerate through coordinated chemical and mechanical signals. Our research integrates experimental biology, computational modeling, and engineering principles to achieve a systems-level understanding of tissue growth and form, with applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and disease modeling. We primarily use the Drosophila wing imaginal disc as a model system, complemented by cell culture, organ-on-chip platforms, and live imaging.
Active research areas include:
- Tissue Morphogenesis and Organ Shape Control — We study how signaling pathways (Dpp, Wg, Hedgehog) and mechanical forces (Rho1, Cdc42, actomyosin) guide organ shape and structure during wing disc eversion. We combine live confocal imaging with computational simulations to understand morphogen gradients, signaling feedback, epithelial folding, and tissue deformation.
- Calcium Signaling Dynamics — We perform rigorous quantitative analysis of Ca²⁺ activity patterns in the wing disc, linking multicellular calcium signaling "classes" to upstream signaling pathways. We have identified "initiator cells" and "standby cells" that define system-level behavior, illustrating how cell-cell coupling of intracellular dynamics leads to emergent tissue-level properties such as final organ size.
- Chemical-Mechanical Coupling in Tissue Shape — We link morphogen signaling to mechanical components (RhoGTPases, cell heights, actin/myosin patterning) that determine tissue shape during development, using both experimental and computational approaches.
- Wound Healing and Regeneration — We study how Drosophila wing discs regenerate following damage, including the roles of MMP1, cell competition, and compensatory proliferation — with relevance to cancer and tissue repair.
- Bioelectric Signaling and Growth Control — Through the RECODE project, we are mapping connections between bioelectric signaling and cell proliferation, using mammalian epithelial and endothelial cell systems.
- Engineering Tools for Cell and Organ Culture — We design microfluidic devices and optimized cell and organ culture media for Drosophila cell and organ culture, enabling controlled studies of development in engineered environments .
- Computational Modeling of Tissue Growth — With collaborations, we develop multiscale computational models (SCE framework) that couple cell mechanics with biochemical signaling, and use reverse-engineering methods to analyze experimental data and test hypotheses.
Goal of the research: To achieve a systems-level understanding of how chemical and mechanical signals are integrated to control tissue growth, shape, and regeneration — from gene networks to whole tissues — with translational applications in regenerative medicine, synthetic biology, and disease modeling.
Tasks and techniques utilized:
- Drosophila genetics and husbandry (Gal4/UAS system, RNAi, clonal analysis)
- Live confocal imaging and time-lapse microscopy
- Quantitative image analysis and data-driven modeling
- Organ culture and microfluidic device fabrication
- Immunostaining, qPCR, and molecular cloning
- Computational modeling (SCE framework, multiscale simulations)
- Cell line engineering and organ-on-chip platforms
How students participate: Undergraduate researchers are paired with a graduate student mentor for a semester or academic year. Students begin with onboarding (safety, protocols, literature), progress through guided practice (hands-on experiments, weekly check-ins), and advance to increasing independence (defined sub-project, data analysis, lab meeting presentation). By the end, students contribute to a deliverable such as a poster, presentation, or manuscript contribution. Students who continue for multiple semesters may progress to more independent projects and co-authorship.
Name of research group, project, or lab
CBE - The Zartman Lab - Multicellular Systems Engineering Lab
Website
Why join this research group or lab?
The Zartman Lab is a particularly dynamic and interdisciplinary place to work because it sits at the intersection of biology, engineering, and computation — offering students the rare opportunity to gain hands-on experience in both wet-lab experiments and computational modeling within the same project.
Why this project is important: Understanding how tissues grow and form is fundamental to advances in regenerative medicine, cancer biology, and tissue engineering. Our work on calcium signaling dynamics, chemical-mechanical coupling, and wing disc morphogenesis directly informs how organs achieve their correct size and shape — and what goes wrong in disease. The Drosophila wing disc is one of the most powerful model systems in developmental biology, and our lab is pushing its boundaries by combining it with engineering tools and computational models.
What other research is ongoing:
- We are part of the NSF EMBRIO Institute (co-executive directed by Dr. Zartman), a multi-institutional effort to advance mechanobiology
- We co-developed the Morphogenetic Bioengineering Initiative (ND-MBI) at Notre Dame, which integrates advanced imaging, organoid models, and machine learning to build computational "digital twins" of cellular pathways (research.nd.edu)
- We collaborate with mathematicians on multiscale modeling of tissue morphogenesis ()
- We collaborate with multiple groups on calcium signaling dynamics and cell engineering for regenerative applications
- Lab members include postdoctoral research scientists studying calcium signaling/GPCRs and protein-protein interactions in disease models, and graduate students working on wing disc eversion, BMP signaling perturbations, and biophysical approaches to cell growth and wound healing
Students who join the lab become part of a vibrant, collaborative research environment that bridges fundamental developmental biology with engineering innovation — gaining skills that are highly valued in graduate school, industry, and biomedical careers.