Our studies are focused on understanding inheritance, chromatin structure, gene expression, and the organization of chromosomes in the nucleus. Most of our studies have focused on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model for chromosome function in metazoans, which allows us to address mechanisms in animals by synergistically combining molecular, genetic, cell biological and biochemical approaches. Additionally, we have examined the relevance of our findings to human chromosomes, and have demonstrated surprising similarities between these evolutionarily-distant species.