One of the fundamental questions in biology is how are genomic programs executed during embryogenesis to generate teh body plan and how do body plan evolve. Gene regulatory networks control cell fate specification, which is the first step toward morphogenesis, but this information is not sufficient to make organs. To build an organ, the cells must apply mechanical force on their environment, measure its mechanical properties and make local computation of how to proceed. In our lab, we use the sea urchin larval skeletogenesis as a model to decipher the genetic and mechanical information processing involved in organogenesis and how it changes during evolution. Our discoveries illuminate the molecular and cellular control of morphogenetic processes and how these processes evolve. 

For further review of our current research projects, see Research.

For a list of our previous works, see Publications.