Development of Face, Maxilla, Mandible and Hard Palate

Facial development is extremely complex involving interactions between different primordia and the involvement of many molecular pathways. This complexity has made great diversity possible, while it also prevented us from gaining a comprehensive understanding of facial diversity using traditional approaches. Interdisciplinary research is needed to understand how cis-regulatory elements, gene expression, cellular behaviors, and physical forces are integrated to shape the face. The robustness of the facial developmental process also needs to be maintained during evolution, Significant work is needed to understand how this evolvability and robustness is balanced.