Research Interest: Throughout wound healing, the deposition of proteins such as fibronectin and collagen to repair the extracellular matrix (ECM) is critical to re-form and strengthen the previously damaged tissue. While this process depends on the cells present in the wound, the ECM also signals back to the cells within and upon it. I am studying how underlying ECM affects fibroblast differentiation into myofibroblasts, a transition which occurs naturally in healing wounds and causes significant increases in ECM protein expression, among other healing-critical changes.