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Current projects:
• Dissection of molecular pathways and regulatory networks underlying sweat gland, hair and mammary gland development and evolution.

• Uncovering the mechanistic basis for functional variation and context specificity of developmental skin enhancers.
• Regeneration of mammalian skin appendages in vitro.
• Discovery and functional modeling of evolutionarily-significant human genetic variants.

Hair and sweat glands in mouse feet

Hair and sweat glands in mouse feet

Human eccrine gland

Human eccrine gland

single transcriptomic analysis of developing mouse skin

single transcriptomic analysis of developing mouse skin

Genetic basis for the sweaty human ape

Genetic basis for the sweaty human ape

Repeated mutation of an Engrailed 1 (EN1) skin enhancer during human evolution drove increased density of sweat glands in human skin

in vivo enhancer screening

in vivo enhancer screening

cross section of mouse skin infected enhancer reporter virus showing basal-layer specific activity

En1 expression in mouse ventral limb

En1 expression in mouse ventral limb

Mouse mammary gland

Mouse mammary gland

Developing skin appendages

Developing skin appendages

Sweat gland openings human digit

Sweat gland openings human digit

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