I am broadly interested in two main aspects of genetics, heredity and variation. My lab focuses on how natural genetic variation shapes genome function in development. My lab combines both experimental bench work and computational methods to explore the impact of genetic variation on chromatin state and gene regulation. I have established expertise in a variety of quantitative approaches including functional genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and systems genetics. During my time at The Jackson Laboratory I have applied my broad skills in molecular biology to develop new functional genomic tools to investigate the role of epigenetic modifications on meiotic recombination and chromosome organization. Together this work demonstrated that meiotic chromatin undergoes a dynamic epigenetic reprogramming important to facilitate proper gamete formation. My lab now is focused on determining how genetic variation influences the epigenome and how these molecular features shape bias in early differentiation using embryonic stem cells as model systems.