Research Interests The lab takes an interdisciplinary "systems-based" approach to investigate how complex living systems are created and operate. Using plants as a system of study, we are seeking to understand how cells come together to create organs which are greater than the sum of their parts. The functional relevance of cellular configurations and their capacity to process information are being quantitatively examined using network and computational approaches. This research, which lies at the interface between developmental biology, mathematics, physics and computer science, is bridging gaps in our understanding of complex life, and has application for the reprogramming and rational design of multicellular systems. In particular, the development of crops with enhanced abilities to response their variable environmental conditions