General Research Overview

Our goal is to understand how developmental mechanisms influence morphologic diversification. To pursue our goal, we combine traditional embryological and paleontological approaches with modern developmental genetic and morphometric techniques to gather data from fossil and living mammals. By combining these disparate types of data, we are beginning to unravel the processes responsible for the patterns of morphologic evolution captured by the fossil record.


Using a combination of model (e.g., mouse) and non-model (e.g., possums, bats, cows, pigs, alligators, etc.) organisms, we address questions such as how do: developmental changes lead to morphologic innovations, developmental mechanisms bias the direction of morphologic evolution, and different genetic mechanisms contribute to morphologic evolution?


Research subjects pursued in the lab include:

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Mammalian limb evolution and development

The primary focus of research in the lab is studying how development has influenced the evolution of morphology in the mammalian limb. On this topic, the lab is currently studying the evolution and development of the bat wing, the parallel evolutionary reduction of mammalian digits, marsupial evolution and development, and the evolution of the mammalian shoulder girdle.

Genetic basis of mammalian girdle and limb development

In the lab, we also are working to identify the genes responsible for limb development and the evolution of the girdle and limb skeleton.  Along these lines, we are collaborating on a QTL screen and subsequent developmental analysis to identify the genes responsible for girdle development and evolution in mammals.

Biomedical research

In collaboration with researchers from several institutions, we are working on a series of applied biomedical projects (in addition to the medically-relevant QTL study outlined above). Specifically, we are characterizing development of the pig dewclaw in the hopes of developing the pig as a model for human digit regeneration, and we are studying the development of the skin membrane in newborn marsupials.