Genomes are engineering marvels, and their simple linear sequence encodes amazing complexity. Not only do mammalian genomes typically contain >20,000 genes, but these genes are controlled by >1 million enhancers scattered throughout the genome. These bits of the genome act in unison to ensure that each gene is turned on at precisely the right time and in precisely the right cell. This coordination is responsible for some of the most extraordinary events in complex organisms, from the early steps of embryogenesis, to how cells respond to environmental stimuli.

Genomes are complex, and understanding how they function is one of the key challenges we face in biology. Research in our lab is split roughly along two broad goals. First, we want to decode genomic complexity to gain fundamental insights about how genomes work. Second, we want to use this information to engineer the genome for novel applications. Together, our work has several biomedical applications: understanding the genetic basis of disease and engineering cells for regenerative medicine. 

Towards these goals, current projects in the lab seek to address several questions. How can we rationally control a cell’s state? How do perturbations affect enhancer function and contribute to disease? How can we assemble an enhancer from scratch? We explore these questions using a systems biology approach: developing and employing integrative approaches at the interface of gene regulation, epigenetics, single-cell genomics, and bioinformatics.