The Petrin Lab focus on genomics of craniofacial birth defects with the main goal of integrating genetics and epigenetics approaches to better understand the etiology of orofacial clefts and apply the knowledge towards improving health, and treatment outcomes. We use a variety of genomic and epigenomic approaches to identify risk factors that contribute to craniofacial birth defects, especially orofacial clefts. Our projects involve a combination of whole genome DNA methylation profiling, whole genome sequencing and targeted approaches, as well as in vitro approaches as CRISPR-Cas-based genetic/epigenetic editing in human cell lines and in vivo studies using zebrafish models.