Peter Lab

Genomes encode not just molecules but also entire programs for biological processes. The most important program in our genomes controls the formation of a multicellular organism. In animals and plants, these programs unfold during development to define the identity, number, and relative position of body parts and cell types within the animal body plan, a process that occurs reproducibly in every individual of a species. Our lab studies the architectural design and function of genomic programs that control animal development.

Our lab uses both experimental and computational approaches to solve gene regulatory networks. As an experimental system, we work with sea urchin embryos, which are small but complete free-living organisms. Using a combination of genomics, system-level gene expression data, and experimental analysis of cis- and trans-regulatory functions, we solve gene regulatory networks that control development of the gut and nervous system, processes that are shared among and crucial for bilaterian animals. In order to predict the behavior of regulatory circuits, and the functional consequence of regulatory mutations, we have developed a computational modeling approach based on Boolean logic functions that capture the function of large scale gene regulatory networks.