Cellular replication is a defining feature of life. But how do cells reproduce themselves? Dr. Christine Jacobs-Wagner's laboratory addresses this fundamental question by probing the governing principles and the spatiotemporal mechanisms that underlie cellular replication, with an emphasis of cell morphogenesis, cell growth, chromosome dynamics and cell cycle regulation. They use bacteria as model systems for two main reasons. First, bacteria lack the complex control systems of eukaryotes (e.g., cyclin/Cdk machinery); yet their multiplication process is remarkably efficient and faithful.