In general, the objective of my laboratory’s research is to define the molecular mechanisms that govern cardiac development, function, and disease. In particular, my laboratory has the following ongoing projects: We are attempting to link developmental and molecular mechanisms to atrioventricular septal defects, a serious form of congenital heart disease; we are investigating the molecular and genetic basis of increased risk for congenital heart disease in Down syndrome; we are investigating the transcriptional control of regionalized function within the cardiac conduction system, specifically, the nodal versus fast ventricular regions; we are describing genomic mechanisms underlying cardiac GWAS, particularly for arrhythmia risk and electrophysiologic traits, with a focus on common variation in non-coding regulatory elements; we are investigating the gene regulatory networks underlying atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia; and we are utilizing embryonic stem cell differentiation for the investigation and application of cardiac sublineage specification. Our goal is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disorders in children and adults.