Chromosomes are packages of genetic information. Cells closely monitor chromosomal integrity because the information they carry is the instruction manual for life. Genome instability underlies human developmental disorders, cancer, and aging, but instability can also be useful to provide genetic variation and alter cell physiology. My lab studies how genome instability impacts physiology at the cell, tissue, and organismal level, and in the context of early development, female reproductive aging, and cancer. By understanding how genome instability and variation impact physiology we can harness this information to improve human health.