Multicellular life depends on the ability of cells to adhere to one another, coordinate their behaviors, and reorganize into tissues during development. My research asks how the molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion give rise to multicellular structures, and how these mechanisms have evolved across animals. By combining mechanistic studies in established model systems with biochemical, computational, and comparative approaches in early-branching animals, my work explores both the conserved foundations and the evolutionary flexibility of adhesion systems. In this seminar, I will highlight how studying cell adhesion across diverse organisms - from traditional genetic models to emerging experimental systems - can provide new insights into how complex biological organization is built and maintained.