This project investigates how ‘simple’ single-cell protozoa express organizational complexity rivaling that seen in higher organisms. Protozoa are rarely in the public mind, except as potential pathogens. What’s overlooked is that protozoa have all the functions of larger organisms, but confined to a single cell. The ciliate Tetrahymena exhibits particular virtuosity by organizing surface structures into exquisitely complex geometries. Animals have mastered the art of organizing their tissues along two major axes, one defining anterior/posterior (heads vs tails), the other defining dorsal/ventral (back vs front). In contrast, ciliates have expanded their organizational geometry beyond this to develop circumferential patterning as well, so that their tiny cilia (used for swimming) are symmetrically arranged in a circular pattern around the cell, while more complex organelles are distributed at precise, and unique cellular longitudes. This project investigates how genes shared with humans are deployed by ciliates to achieve this 360-degree circumferential pattern. As such, it opens an entirely new cellular landscape for scientific exploration. This easily-grown organism also provides an attractive model for training undergraduates, as both labs continue to produce next-generation scientists via both summer research, and undergraduate laboratory courses involving advanced microscopy. Ciliates provide a novel paradigm for studying intracellular pattern in living cells.