My research group is interested in a variety of topics related to the vertebrate craniofacial (head) development, craniofacial genetic conditions in humans and craniofacial developmental evolution. We use morphometric, molecular, cellular and genetic approaches to study the precise mechanisms of cranial skeletal cell differentiation and skull/face morphogenesis in amniotes. The species we work with range from the laboratory "model" systems, such as chicken embryos and mouse mutants, to the "non-model" species used for evolutionary developmental studies, for example, Darwin's Finches and their relatives from Caribbean Islands, as well as other birds and, more recently, reptiles, both squamates (e.g. Anolis lizards), and archosaurs, such as alligators. This combination of laboratory "model" species with "non-model" species from natural environments allows us to address important conceptual questions, such as the roles of particular developmental genetic mechanisms (e.g. modularity) in evolution of adaptive variation and significant morphological transitions at both small and large evolutionary scales.

Generally, our studies on evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo) have a tripartite structure of the overall approach: 1) The first step is quantification of morphological variation using methods ranging from simply scoring the absence or presence of particular structures to 3D imaging and modeling; 2) The second component is identification of candidate genetic and developmental mechanisms using methods ranging from observations of the trait as it emerges in real time to quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to microarray and RNAseq screens;3) The third part is functional assays of candidate genes/pathways to reveal the more causative relationships by methods ranging from physical manipulations to tissue and embryo transgenesis with molecular vectors.

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