动物胚胎发育和成体器官再生的过程包含了“细胞命运的决定”以及“相关形态结构构建”两个相对独立却相互影响的过程。细胞信号转导是细胞命运决定过程中关键的调控机制：靶细胞通过受体接收信号细胞分泌出来的配体分子，引发其胞内的信号级联反应，最终诱导该细胞向特定命运分化。在细胞命运决定的同时，细胞通过改变其行为，驱动组织层面上的变化，逐步形成预定的结构。
本实验室以果蝇和斑马鱼为主要模式生物，结合遗传学、组学、分子生物学、显微成像与定量分析等现代技术，系统研究Hedgehog、Notch、JNK等多种重要发育信号的相互交织决定细胞命运的分子机理，以及细胞命运决定之后的细胞行为驱动胚胎发育以及器官（心脏）再生的作用机理。
Animal embryonic development and organ regeneration are driven by the signaling network-controlled cell fate determination and cell-shape-based tissue morphogenesis. The target cells receive ligand molecules secreted by the signaling cell, which triggers an intracellular signaling cascade that ultimately induces the cell to differentiate toward a specific fate. While the cell's fate is being determined, interactions between cell-cell contacts, remodeling of the cytoskeleton, together with the cell number control system, collectively define tissue morphology, gradually forming the intended structure.
Using Drosophila and zebrafish as the main model organisms, our laboratory focuses on how the interwoven signaling pathways, such as Hedgehog, Notch, and JNK, control embryo development and organ (mainly heart) regeneration in terms of cell fate determination, and how cellular behavior drives tissue morphogenesis.
