Dr. Sokol investigates signaling mechanisms regulating cell polarity, cell movements and cell fate determination in vertebrate embryos. One major direction of Dr. Sokol's research is to identify novel genetic and epigenetic targets of the Wnt pathway operating in early development and implicated in cancer. Using mammalian stem/progenitor cells and Xenopus embryos, Dr. Sokol also studies intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing asymmetric cell division and neuronal differentiation in the central nervous system.