Despite being described over a century ago and being present singly on many mammalian cell types, primary cilia have long been dismissed as ‘vestigial’ organelles. We are interested in how vertebrate cells regulate ciliogenesis and how primary cilia are used during development and in disease. We have found that cells use the primary cilium as a kind of cellular antenna involved in interpreting diverse types of extracellular information. We are currently exploring whether defects in signaling through the primary cilium underlie a number of congenital syndromes and human diseases.