My expertise lies in molecular genetic analyses of developmental processes in model systems. My lab investigates the roles of conserved transcription regulators in the development of sensory systems, including the eye. We aim to identify proteins, signals and genome features that serve as determinants of transcription regulator function and specificity during critical periods of development, such as during neural versus non-neural fate specification in the primordial eye tissue, and later in development, during eye morphogenesis. My recent investigations have focused on the genetic networks that regulate the Hippo-Yki and Mitf signaling axes in the developing eye, and I am currently funded to investigate the links between these signaling cascades and the expression of ocular extracellular matrix.