In living organisms arrays of thousands of micrometer-scale motile cilia coordinate over several millimeters to transport fluids with diverse rheological properties. Integrated studies of cilia and fluid have been hindered by a lack of experimental systems where cilia and fluid can studied integratively. During my postdoc I explored several model organisms that could be employed to study quantitatively and systematically flow generation by arrays of cilia. I developed tools to use the planarian flatworm S.mediterranea as an experimental model system, in which cilia, fluid and their interactions can be imaged and probed from the micrometer cilia- to the millimeter fluid- scale.

Planarians glide by secreting mucus on their ventral surface and use motile cilia to move the mucus. In this organism high throughput gene knockdowns can be achieved by feeding bacteria to the worms. Using this experimental model system, my lab will identify the key physical properties of individual cilia that control the collective phenotypes of a ciliary array and the flow generated by it.