Human Stem Cell Use: Embryonic Stem Cell
The stem cell microenvironment in the maintenance of pluripotency and reprogramming
Pluripotent stem cell research is just on the verge of beginning to fulfill its promise to revolutionize medicine. Whether they are derived from embryos, or from adult cells that have been reprogrammed, human pluripotent stem cells can be propagated indefinitely in the laboratory and can turn into a wide range of mature cell types, providing […]
Identification and characterization of human ES-derived DA neuronal subtypes
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that affects 1 in 100 people over the age of 60, one million people in the US and six million worldwide. Patients show a resting tremor, slowness of movement (bradykinesia), postural instability and rigidity. Parkinson’s disease results primarily from the loss of neurons deep in the middle […]
Molecular Characterization of hESC and hIPSC-Derived Spinal Motor Neurons
One of the main objectives of stem cell biology is to create physiologically relevant cell types that can be used to either facilitate the study of or directly treat human disease. Tremendous progress towards these goals has been made in the area of motor neuron disease and spinal cord injury through the findings that motor […]
Molecular Characterization and Functional Exploration of Hemogenic Endothelium
Hematopoietic cells are responsible for generating all cell types present in the blood and therefore critical for the provision of oxygen and nutrients to all the tissues in the body. Blood cells are also required for defense against microorganisms and even for the recognition and elimination of tumor cells. Because blood cells have a relatively […]
A modular automation approach to stem cell modeling to increase throughput, reproducibility and access
This project enhances stem cell access, scalability, and collaboration. It offers characterized hPSC lines, CRISPR editing, and differentiation on automated platforms accelerating progress in biology, disease research, and regenerative medicine. The project benefits California by advancing regenerative medicine through diverse hPSC lines, potentially leading to novel treatments and addressing health disparities. It offers educational opportunities […]
Immune cloaking of human stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells for curative cell therapy without immunosuppression
Research Objective The goal of our project is to generate cells for replacement therapy in patients that have reduced ability to trigger the immune response in the recipient and therefore escape rejection. Impact We test a novel molecule that reduces immune activation upon transplantation of allogeneic stem cell products that can improve graft survival and […]
Village-based identification of human risk factors for viral neuropathogenesis
Research Objective We will identify the risk factors underlying viral infections of the fetal brain using a novel human stem cell-based platform that has the potential to accelerate basic and translational discoveries. Impact Our work will identify the biological factors that influence inter-individual differences in susceptibility and immune response to neurotropic viruses, which could inform […]
An interactive data resource for hypothesis testing in stem cell single-cell gene expression and validation of the results with brain organoids
Research Objective We are building a "virtual molecular microscope" where anyone can quickly visualize a very recent, high-throughput molecular assay, single-cell RNA-seq and spatial gene expression studies Impact Currently, a lot of data has been published, hundreds of datasets on the cerebral cortex alone, but it takes hours to convert the datasets and look at […]
Characterization and applications of human blastoids for understanding early human embryogenesis
Research Objective Our work will yield an improved stem-cell based embryo model that we will explore with various omics approaches and genetic screens to gain insights into the pathways that control human embryos. Impact An improved stem cell-based embryo model is a crucial step for in-depth studies of human development and will enhance our ability […]
Mapping the spatial and temporal responses of hESC-derived microglia to repeat mild closed head injury to identify therapeutic targets and mechanisms
Research Objective We will generate an RNA activation map of human stem cell derived microglia activation states following brain injury to then test a new gene-edited microglia peptide delivery mechanism. Impact Bottlenecks with the time and sex-dependent human microglia responses to repeat mild closed head injury and questions surrounding the delivery and efficacy of a […]