All the genetic information needed to make a single cell embryo into a multicellular organism is held within the genome. This means that every cell within an organism regardless of its function has the same information.  In part, accessibility to this information controls the ability of cells to activate certain genes leading to different cell types. 

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Currently we are working on the observation of hindbrain development during embryogenesis of the zebrafish (Danio rerio). To do so we have adapted a chromosome conformation capture (3C) technique to observe how chromosome looping will influence Hox gene expression.  We plan to research the possibility of chromatin interactions between these Hox gene clusters because they hold the key to embryonic hindbrain development of metazoans. These interactions will help us further understand how the hindbrain develops and with more information, could even lead to further discoveries for a cure of brain diseases.