Home: The Intersection of Genetics & Mechanics

How are genomic programs executed during embryogenesis to build a body plan, and how do these plans evolve? This is one of the most fundamental questions in biology.

While Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) control cell fate specification, this genetic blueprint alone is not enough to construct an organ. To build a functional structure, cells must actively engage with their physical world: they must apply mechanical forces, sense the properties of their environment, and perform local computations to determine their next move.

Our Model: Sea Urchin Skeletogenesis

In our lab, we use the larval skeleton of the sea urchin to decipher the complex interplay between genetic and mechanical information processing. By studying this system, we aim to uncover how these instructions are integrated during organogenesis and how they have shifted over evolutionary time.

Our discoveries illuminate the molecular and cellular control of morphogenesis, offering a deeper understanding of how life builds and rebuilds itself.