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Edwin Munro is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Chicago. His research interests focus on understanding how embryos integrate biochemical signaling and cytoskeletal dynamics to orchestrate complex cell and tissue behaviors. He employs techniques such as live imaging, genetic manipulation, and biophysical analysis to study dynamic control of self-organized actomyosin contractility and cell polarization in Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as the morphogenesis of ascidians. Munro's work addresses key challenges such as how embryonic cells remodel actin networks through tuning assembly and motor activity for processes like polarization, movement, shape change, and division. His recent research has uncovered a network of interactions involving conserved PAR polarity proteins and actomyosin cytoskeleton in these processes. Munro combines experimental approaches with computer simulations to further investigate tissue-specific gene expression and signaling pathways that regulate cellular behavior during crucial developmental stages, like neural tube closure.
Department of Philosophy