In most epithelial wounds, both the cell layer and the extracellular matrix (basement membrane) are damaged. To heal, cells at the wound margin must sense the wound, adopt a migratory front-rear polarity while maintaining their collective architecture, extend or migrate in the direction of the wound, and then re-establish a quiescent apical-basal polarity after the wound is closed.  How do epithelial cells coordinate these activities?   We are using a Drosophila epithelial model of wound healing because the tissue heals rapidly, within about half a day.  We collaborate with physicists in the laboratory of Shane Hutson (Vanderbilt Physics) to understand the signals that emanate from an epithelial wound and how the cells interpret and respond to these signals.  (James O’Connor, James White, Bushra Akbar, Neil Narayanan)