Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
The lab of Dr. Sara Stahley broadly studies how cells interact with one another to regulate development and tissue organization. More specifically, the lab studies the cell-cell interactions that drive collective cell behaviors. This coordination between neighboring cells, essential for embryonic development and tissue patterning, is regulated by the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway. An excellent example of PCP, or collective polarization along a tissue plane, is the ordered alignment of body hairs across the mammalian skin along the anterior-posterior body access.
A hallmark of PCP is the polarized, asymmetric localization of core PCP proteins at cell junctions, which is driven by intercellular interactions of cadherin family member Celsr. Major efforts in the lab seek to understand the mechanisms that regulate Celsr-mediated adhesion and PCP asymmetry, and how these functions are perturbed in disease. Toward these efforts, the lab utilizes the mammalian skin as a model system, along with cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and advanced imaging approaches.
Overall, the Stahley lab aims to provide key insights into the mechanisms that coordinate PCP and how epithelial junction organization at the molecular level is regulated during development, epidermal homeostasis and human disease.
Teaching and educational interests
Dr. Sara Stahley is a faculty member in the Biomedical Sciences graduate program at Penn State College of Medicine.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Princeton University
2016 → 2020
Postdoctoral Research, Emory University
2016
Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, PhD, Emory University
2009 → 2015
Chemistry, Biomolecular Sciences, BS, Clarkson University
2005 → 2008
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Cadherin regulation of planar polarity
Stahley, S. (PI)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
9/1/23 → 6/30/25
Project: Research project
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Cell Adhesion Regulation of Planar Cell Polarity During Epidermal Developmen
Stahley, S. (PI)
1/1/22 → …
Project: Research project
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Celsr1-mediated planar cell polarity: defining the adhesive interface and mechanisms of asymmetry
Stahley, S. (PI)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
4/1/17 → 3/31/20
Project: Research project
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Pemphigus Vulgaris Autoantibodies Induce an Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response
Hoffman, C. L., Bharathan, N. K., Shibata, Y., Giang, W., Gudjonsson, J. E., Seykora, J. T., Prouty, S. M., Stahley, S. N., Payne, A. S. & Kowalczyk, A. P., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Investigative Dermatology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Correction to: Architecture and dynamics of a desmosome–endoplasmic reticulum complex (Nature Cell Biology, (2023), 25, 6, (823-835), 10.1038/s41556-023-01154-4)
Bharathan, N. K., Giang, W., Hoffman, C. L., Aaron, J. S., Khuon, S., Chew, T. L., Preibisch, S., Trautman, E. T., Heinrich, L., Bogovic, J., Bennett, D., Ackerman, D., Park, W., Petruncio, A., Weigel, A. V., Saalfeld, S., Wayne Vogl, A., Stahley, S. N. & Kowalczyk, A. P., Apr 2024, In: Nature Cell Biology. 26, 4, p. 660 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Open Access1 Scopus citations -
Architecture and dynamics of a desmosome–endoplasmic reticulum complex
Bharathan, N. K., Giang, W., Hoffman, C. L., Aaron, J. S., Khuon, S., Chew, T. L., COSEM Project Team, Preibisch, S., Trautman, E. T., Heinrich, L., Bogovic, J., Bennett, D., Ackerman, D., Park, W., Petruncio, A., Weigel, A. V., Saalfeld, S., Wayne Vogl, A., Stahley, S. N. & Kowalczyk, A. P., Jun 2023, In: Nature Cell Biology. 25, 6, p. 823-835 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access23 Scopus citations -
Celsr1 adhesive interactions mediate the asymmetric organization of planar polarity complexes
Stahley, S. N., Basta, L. P., Sharan, R. & Devenport, D., Feb 2021, In: eLife. 10, p. 1-26 26 p., e62097.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access29 Scopus citations -
The desmosome is a mesoscale lipid raft–like membrane domain
Lewis, J. D., Caldara, A. L., Zimmer, S. E., Stahley, S. N., Seybold, A., Strong, N. L., Frangakis, A. S., Levental, I., Wahl, J. K., Mattheyses, A. L., Sasaki, T., Nakabayashi, K., Hata, K., Matsubara, Y., Ishida-Yamamoto, A., Amagai, M., Kubo, A. & Kowalczyk, A. P., 2019, In: Molecular biology of the cell. 30, 12, p. 1390-1405 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access24 Scopus citations