Our work

Richard Schneider, PhD, and his lab are focused on understanding how individual components of the craniofacial complex achieve their proper size, shape, and functional integration during development and evolution. 

To address this question, the lab has created a surgical transplantation system that involves two distinct species of birds (quail and duck), which differ considerably in their growth rates and anatomy. The experimental approach is straightforward: stem cells that give rise to craniofacial structures are exchanged between quail and duck embryos. This causes faster developing quail cells and relatively slower maturing duck cells to interact with one another continuously within chimeric "quck" and "duail" embryos. Also, chimeras are challenged to integrate species-specific differences in size and shape between the donor and host. 

By looking for donor-induced changes to the formation of bone, cartilage, muscle, tendon, nerves, and other tissues, the lab has been able to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms that pattern the craniofacial complex. A goal is to devise novel therapies for regenerating tissues affected by birth defects, disease, and trauma. The lab's work has also helped elucidate the role of development in evolution.