Wound repair and regeneration are fundamental features of animal biology, yet little is known about how these pathways compare across animal lineages. The goals of my research program are: 1) to identify cellular and genetic mechanisms for whole-body regeneration, and 2) to create a framework for rigorous cross-species comparisons to understand the evolution of regeneration. In this talk, I will discuss how we utilize a diversity of approaches including functional genomics, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and transgenesis to uncover the mechanisms of regeneration and stem cell regulation in Hofstenia miamia, a.k.a. the three-banded panther worm, a new research organism.. In particular, I will highlight how studying embryonic development informs these questions.