The epithelial lining of the colon contains millions of invaginations called colonic crypts.  Colon cancer starts in the colonic crypts as a result of progressive loss or organization of the normal structure of the crypts.  Each cancer has many genetic mutations – it is a very complex problem.  Understanding the dynamics of the cells in a normal crypt via mathematical models allows us to explore the mechanisms leading to loss of tissue organization, and to relate mutations to such mechanisms.

Ou research aims at discovering the tissue code so as to understand how the code is violated in disease, thus allowing us to figure out ways to fix the loss of organization, namely to restore the normal cell dynamics within the tissue.