The Boerckel lab’s philosophy is that, if one wants to build a tissue, they should look to how the embryo builds that tissue. Thus the lab seeks to understand how mechanical cues influence embryonic development to enable tissue engineering strategies that recapitulate these processes for regeneration. Our work currently focuses on defining the roles of the mechanosensitive transcriptional regulators Yes-associated protein (YAP) and Transcriptional co-activator with PDZ motif (TAZ) in mechanotransduction, morphogenesis, growth, adaptation, and repair. In addition, we seek to develop new tissue engineering strategies for challenging injuries. We use a combination of engineered matrices and bioreactors to study mechanisms of cell mechanotransduction, genetic mouse models to study development and disease, and mouse and rat models to study repair and regeneration.