Dr. Miriam Zelditch at the University of Michigan is conducting research on cranial and facial development in mammals; of specific concern is the extent to which integration of facial and cranial structure is determined by embryonic, phylogenetic (evolutionary), and functional constraints. The PIs propose to study embryonic development in several species of rodents, each representing a different style of development. Mathematical and statistical analysis will be applied to measurements taken from orofacial, neurocranial and limb bones during the course of development. The analysis will provide insight to how constraints operating early in development affect the anatomical structure of adult organisms and how the integrated structure of the face and cranium is modified through evolution.
