Questions that motivate us
How do developmental processes happen at the right time? How is the skull integrated during development? What genetic and endocrine factors regulate the transition from larva to juvenile and from embryo to fetus? How do changes in developmental timing cause congenital disease or create evolutionary novel phenotypes?
Why development?
Many human diseases originate during prenatal development, and birth defects occur in as many as 3% of live births. The majority of these congenital defects are craniofacial abnormalities like cleft palate and microcephaly. Understanding how development is coordinated and integrated is critical in understanding how human developmental disorders arise and how they may be prevented. Powerful new molecular tools, including CRISPR technology, now allow us to study the genetics of development with an unprecedented degree of precision.
Why zebrafish?
Over the past several decades, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become a premier model vertebrate for developmental and molecular research. Zebrafish are easy to rear, image, breed and manipulate genetically. The global community of zebrafish researchers has developed a wealth of genetic tools, including many reporter and responder lines and thousands of mutants. The zebrafish is an ideal system for asking fundamental questions how vertebrates develop.
