Rashmi Priya is a Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute, UK. Rashmi's lab uses advanced microscopic, genetics and biophysical approaches to understand the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms governing organ morphogenesis, using the developing zebrafish heart as a model system. Rashmi was previously interviewed for our 'Transitions in development' series in 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.201003), where we heard about her PhD and postdoctoral experience, as well her lab's initial interests. This year, Rashmi is a Guest Editor for Development's special issue on the extracellular environment in development, regeneration and stem cells. So, we caught up with Rashmi over Teams to hear about her lab's current research focus, the importance of interdisciplinary research in answering fundamental questions in developmental biology, and her experience of curating the special issue.