Centrosomes are the main microtubule organizing center of animal cells and they contribute to a variety of processes such as cell division and the establishment andmaintenance of cell polarity which impact in cell and tissue homeostasis. Our lab is interested in understanding the biogenesis of centrosomes, the contribution of these organelles to developmental events and how mutations in centrosome components can lead to the establishment of disease. In particular we are interested in understanding how cells and tissues deal with the presence of supernumerary centrosomes, a condition known as centrosome amplification that is often present in human tumours. Our research uses two model organisms, Drosophila and mouse and a variety of approaches such as live imaging, laser ablation, genetics and modeling.

Stills of a time lapse movie of a Drosophila
neural stem cell with supernumerary
centrosomes expressing GFP-Tubulin and RFP-Histone to visualize the spindle and chromosomes respectively.