There is a gap in our understanding of how the precise organization of cells in the nervous system (e.g. neural cells) impacts human behavior and disease. Our goal is to address this by understanding how stem cells and other cell populations build and rebuild the nervous system. Using advanced imaging approaches with molecular and cellular biology techniques we have the opportunity to reveal new biological processes that occur during development and regeneration of the nervous system, investigate the blueprint and construction of those processes and then discover the overall behavioral impact of disrupting such biology, helping us gain insight into how diseases manifest themselves in the clinic.