Our lab studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving normal facial and heart morphogenesis. Neural crest cells, originating from the junction of the neural and non-neural ectoderm, give rise to most of the face and portions of the cardiovascular system. We use a combination of mouse and zebrafish models to dissect the signaling cascades regulating neural crest cell patterning and determine how perturbation of these pathways effect normal embryonic development. We also use this information to understand and define the genetic basis of novel human birth defect syndromes.