My research group seeks to understand how cells build ribosomes, the machines that synthesize proteins from amino acids.  We are primarily interested in the roles ribosomes play in development and disease. Ribosomes, intricate molecular machines, are best known for translating genomic information into proteins, building blocks of our cell-types and tissues. Human cells assemble millions of ribosomes to sustain their growth.  Defects in ribosome assembly during development cause decreased cell growth and division and developmental disorders. Thus, we use ribosome assembly as a system to decipher how cells build ribosomes and how deregulation of ribosome assembly leads to developmental disorders and cancer.