Affiliated with
— Exploring the laws of life's evolution —
We tackle open questions at the intersection of embryology, genomics, and evolutionary theory — and we welcome new research ideas from students and postdocs.
Are there general rules linking embryogenesis and phylogeny? We explore the molecular basis of the vertebrate hourglass model — a conserved "phylotypic" stage shared across distant species.
Why is bodyplan evolution so conservative? Can we quantify which animals, phenotypes, or developmental systems evolve more freely — and even predict evolutionary trajectories?
Which developmental systems are more evolved (more precisely, evolutionarily derived)? We develop quantitative metrics to ask how much biological change each lineage has undergone relative to a shared ancestor.
We are chimera by nature — maternal cells reside in our bodies for life. What roles do they play? We explore whether these cells are linked to congenital disease onset and progression.
We found that vertebrate embryos follow the developmental hourglass model — converging to a conserved "phylotypic" stage mid-development, then diverging again in later stages. A landmark finding linking 19th-century ideas to modern genomics.
Genomic analysis confirmed turtles as relatives of birds and crocodiles. Even their odd anatomy obeys the hourglass rule.
Biliary atresia patients show higher maternal microchimeric cells in the liver. We propose these cells may influence certain congenital diseases.
Crocodilian genomes evolve slowly relative to birds. Geological and biological time differ across animal lineages.
>99% of avian-specific sequences are non-coding regulatory DNA. The dinosaur-to-bird transition happened by rewiring gene networks.
Pleiotropic genes both enable novelty and limit diversification — a double-edged role of gene recruitment in evolution.
Despite their alien-looking pentameral bodies, echinoderm genomes are surprisingly similar to ours. Bodyplan evolution happened without dramatic genetic changes.
First single-cell characterization of maternal microchimeric cells — they repress neonatal immune over-activation and vary greatly between individuals.
Evolutionary and learning processes share deep structural similarities — both explore fitness landscapes through iterative trial-and-error, with exciting implications for AI.
