Therapeutic/Technology: Technology
Medical School Loan Repayment Program
Our research focuses on developing new tools and models for the next generation of doctors and scientists in all specialties of regenerative medicine. The major obstacles in regenerative medicine are the limited number of pre-existing stem cells and the inability to regulate their proliferation. Our aim is to identify the mechanisms that regulate adult stem […]
Defining the Isoform-Specific Effects of Apolipoprotein E on the Development of iPS Cells into Functional Neurons in Vitro and in Vivo
GOALS We propose to determine the effects of different forms of apoE on the development of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into functional neurons. In Aim 1, iPS cells will be generated from skin cells of adult knock-in (KI) mice expressing different forms of human apoE and in humans with different apoE genotypes. In Aim […]
Mechanisms Underlying the Responses of Normal and Cancer Stem Cells to Environmental and Therapeutic Insults
Adult stem cells play an essential role in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Environmental and therapeutic insults leading to DNA damage dramatically impact stem cell functions and can lead to organ failure or cancer development. Yet little is known about the mechanisms by which adult stem cells respond to such insults by repairing their damaged […]
Laying the groundwork for building a tooth: analysis of dental epithelial stem cells
To fix a broken car, the mechanic either repairs or replaces the defective part. Similarly, one of the most promising approaches physicians foresee for treating human disease and ameliorating the aging process is regenerative medicine. A major aim of this field is to restore function by repairing or replacing damaged organs. Scientists envision a day […]
Building Cardiac Tissue from Stem Cells and Natural Matrices
Congestive heart failure afflicts 4.8 million people, with 400,000 new cases each year. Myocardial infarction (MI), also known as a “heart attack”, leads to a loss of cardiac tissue and impairment of left ventricular function. Because the heart does not contain a significant number of multiplying stem, precursor, or reserve cells, it is unable to […]
Mechanisms in Choroid Plexus Epithelial Development
Buried deep inside the brain are cells known as choroid plexus epithelial (CPe) cells. Although not as famous as other cells in the nervous system, CPe cells perform a large number of important jobs that keep the brain and spinal cord healthy. They produce the fluid (known as cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF) that bathes the […]
The roles of non-coding RNAs in the self-renewal and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells
There are thousands of cell types in the animal body, many of which can be derived from embryonic stem cells (ES cells), a pluripotent cell type that thrive in cell culture condition. ES cells differentiate into various cell type in a tissue culture dish in response to different growth factor/cytokine treatment, which can be transplanted […]
Mechanisms of small RNA regulation in early embryonic development
The promise of embryonic stem cells in regenerative medicine is based on their potential to make every cell in the body, a property coined pluripotency. With rapid recent advances in technology, it is becoming relative straightforward to make embryonic stem cell-like lines from adult tissues. In the near future, the generation of these lines will […]
The molecular basis underlying adult neurogenesis during regeneration and tissue renewal
Regeneration of lost body parts has long fascinated humans, yet regeneration remains one of the great mysteries in biology. Forty years ago, studies on the mammalian brain provided evidence that new neurons are generated throughout life. It is now widely accepted that neurons are born (neurogenesis) in a wide range of animals, including humans, from […]
Mechanisms Underlying the Diverse Functions of STAT3 in Embryonic Stem Cell Fate Regulation
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are derived from very early stage embryos. ESCs can be maintained in culture indefinitely while retain the ability to make any type of cell in the body. These properties make ESCs a very powerful tool to address basic biology questions. ESCs also offer an important renewable resource for future cell replacement […]