Afshan is interested in understanding how cells interact with their extracellular environment during cell migration. She uses the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to answer this question. Afshan has examined the migration of a subset of visceral muscle cells, the caudal visceral mesoderm. She has also looked at the role of extracellular proteases, namely the ADAMTS family of secreted proteases, and their role in cell migration. Her research continues to examine how restructuring of the extracellular matrix affects cell migration.
