​Keynote Speaker: Michael H. Carstens, MD, FACS; Plastic and craniofacial surgeon at the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine

​Neuromeric Model of Craniofacial Development 

This lecture explores how brain development shapes the face. Research from the late 1980s to 2010 mapped the segmental organization of the brain, revealing genetic patterns that guide neural crest cell migration. These findings connect the central nervous system to the formation of facial and skull structures. Errors in this process can lead to characteristic deformities. Understanding this system offers new insights into craniofacial anatomy, leading to a key concept: the brain predicts the face.