Mutation is the raw material for the forces of evolution and the source of all inherited genetic disease. My group studies mutation rate evolution by applying computational tools and population genetic theory to large DNA sequencing datasets. We are currently focusing on the following questions: 1) How do inherited variants in DNA replication and repair genes (commonly called "mutator alleles") shape the rate and spectrum of de novo mutation? 2) How is DNA damage repaired in the early embryo, and how do inherited DNA lesions influence the genetic diversity of future generations? 3) How can we use new statistical and machine learning methods to uncover genetic and environmental modifiers of eukaryotic mutation rates? We are primarily a computational lab, though we are planning a number of "wet-lab" experiments to investigate DNA damage repair in the nematode C. elegans.