My research focus is on the cerebral cortical development. It seeks to decipher how cerebral cortical neural cell fates are determined (with special attention in the earliest generated cells in the subplate and in the large pyramidal cells of layer 5), and how development of cortical functional specialisation (arealization) is determined by genetic and environmental factors. The arealization of the mammalian cortex is controlled by a combination of intrinsic factors that are expressed within or near the cortex, and external signals, some of which are mediated through thalamic input. Members of my research group study the generation of cortical neurons and development of the cortical connectivity in this context.