Developmental Biology

Research Programs

We use various model systems and human organoids to discover the cell-cell signaling interactions and transcriptional networks that direct cell differentiation and organ formation. We collaborate with clinical investigators to explore how disruptions in these processes can lead to congenital anomalies or predisposition to disease in various organ systems, including digestive, cardiopulmonary, craniofacial, urogenital, skeletal, muscular, and nervous/neurological systems.

Our scientists are discovering how the peripheral and central nervous systems, with complex synaptic networks, form during embryogenesis using animal models, patient stem cells and human brain organoids. With clinical colleagues in neurosurgery and neurology we strive to elucidate the genetic and developmental basis of neurodevelopmental disorders, with the goal of improving diagnosis and treatment.

Our investigators are dissecting the genomic, genetic, and epigenetic basis of embryogenesis from organ systems to the single cell level. With colleagues in Human Genetics and Biomedical Informatics we are using advanced computational analysis to define the gene regulatory networks of development and how disrupting these networks lead to disease. 

Using quantitative experimental analysis, advanced imaging, and mathematical modeling our scientist are elucidating the multi-scale molecular, cellular and tissue level mechanisms that govern pattern formation and morphogenesis during development. From molecular structure and function to self-organizing cellular systems, this information reveals disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.