I explore natural genetic variation segregating in populations to discover how mutations that assert subtle individual effects can, in combination, disrupt gene regulatory networks and confer genetic susceptibility to developmental anomalies, adult disorder, and disease. My research integrates in vivo and in vitro experimental assays and computational methods with advanced mapping populations – an emerging multidisciplinary field called Systems Genetics - to identify causal genetic variants and network interactions that underlie phenotypic variability in 1) transcript abundance, protein expression, and organ function in adult tissues and 2) disease etiology and severity in a mouse model of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. I have extensive training in developmental biology, complex trait genetic