This research focuses on critical early decision during embryogenesis, such as the determination of embryonic polarity and whether a cell becomes a somatic or germline cell. We will employ tools and techniques needed to interrogate the mechanical processes to analyze how embryonic patterning is regulated by coupling between chemical reactions and mechanical forces.

This research aims at understanding the mechanisms by which spatially uniform cell aggregates acquire a functional pattern. Using inner cell mass in mammalian embryos as a model system, we will identify the mechanical force and its interaction with biochemical reactions, which enables cellular symmetry breaking and subsequent tissue patterning, and elucidate the principles of embryonic development.

This research aims to elucidate the mechanism of mechano-genomic crosstalk during embryonic development using Drosophila gastrulation as a model system. We will combine spatial transcriptomics with mechanical measurements and manipulation to investigate how fate and form emerge through mechanical self-organization.