While I was a graduate student in Stephen Devoto's lab, I identified a cell population called Anterior Border Cells (ABCs), which are found on the anterior edge of the epithelial somite. Through the use of several cell-labeling techniques, I showed that these cells translocate to the outer, lateral surface of the somite, where they form a thin layer of cells superficial to the myotome. My work has shown that ABCs are a population of muscle precursor cells, possibly even homologous to dermomyotome cells in the amniote somite.
Currently, I am studying inner ear patterning at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles.