Stem Cell Biology

Researchers Related to Stem Cell Biology

Embryonic stem cells, the subject of much controversy when used in research, have the ability to differentiate into any type of tissue. In 2006, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan successfully reprogrammed differentiated mouse skin cells into cells that looked and behaved like embryonic stem cells. Since that time, researchers, including those at the Gates’ Center, have been able to replicate the process with adult human skin cells.

At the Gates' Center we study the biology of adult stem cells so that we can better understand the role they play in tissue formation as well as disease. By understanding the mechanisms that propel them, we hope to learn how to regenerate cells, organs and tissues and how to detect and stop disease.

For more information on the Center's Stem Cell Biology program, please refer to the list of researchers below.

	Researcher	Description
	Appel, Bruce	Stem Cell Biology Links Our focus is the investigation of mechanisms that regulate neural precursors and progenitors during development.
	Artinger, Kristin	Stem Cell Biology Links The primary focus of our research program is to understand how neural crest progenitor stem cells become differentiated cell populations, such as neurons, glia and melanocytes (pigment cells) during development. For these studies, we use both the zebrafish and mouse models with the hope to understand how this process goes wrong during birth defects and disease.
	Balasubramaniam, Vivek	Stem Cells and Disease & Stem Cell Biology Links We are studying the role of local and bone marrow derived progenitor cells during lung development and in the repair of the neonatal lung after injury.
	Bernt, Kathrin	One of my major current projects involves characterizing the effect of loss of Dot1l and H3K79 methylation on normal hematopoetic stem cells. I was recently involved in delineating the effects of loss of H3K79 on the generation of iPS cells, and we were able to show that loss of H3K79 methylation facilitated (likely PRC2 mediated) repression of differentiation associated expression programs that represent a barrier to reprogramming. I have preliminary data suggesting a similar role for Dot1l in hematopoietic development. Stem Cells and Cancer Links We hypothesize that leukemia stem cells maintain self-renewal properties though aberrant expression of stem cell programs controlled by epigenetic mechanisms. Targeted modulation of the epigenetic modifiers that regulate stem cell programs may serve as new approach to cancer therapy. Stem Cell Biology Links We are investigating how the interplay of different chromatin modifications guides hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells through the coordinated activation and shut down of stem cell and differentiation associated gene expression programs during normal hematopoietic development.
	Chick, Wallace	Stem Cell Biology Links Our lab is interested in discovering novel genes that improve the life span and health span of humans, using mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells as a tool.
	Friedman, Jacob E.	Stem Cell Biology Links My focus is the fetal origins of obesity and diabetes in mouse, monkey, and man; the transcription factor in the regulation of metabolism.
	Hagman, James	Stem Cell Biology Links My work focuses on mechanisms that drive the differentiation of stem cells or progenitors to activate B cell lineage-specific programs and undergo commitment.
	Huang, Hua	Stem Cell Biology Links We are investigating the interaction between adaptive immunity and bone marrow stem cells, and studying the differentiation of allergic effector cells from bone marrow progenitors, to develop methods to expand hematopoietic stem cells in vitro.
	Klemm, Dwight	Stem Cells and Disease & Stem Cell Biology Links My laboratory is interested in the contribution of bone marrow-derived stem cells to the adipocyte population of the major adipose depots.
	Koch, Peter J.	Stem Cell and Cancer Links My group is investigating the role of cell adhesion molecules and cell adhesion molecule-mediated signaling in cancer stem cells. Our main focus is non-melanoma skin cancer. Stem Cell and Disease Links My laboratory utilizes stem cell technology to investigate the disease mechanisms of inherited skin disorders, such as blistering skin diseases, and to develop therapeutic strategies to correct disease-causing mutations in patient cells. Stem Cell Biology Links Our team is developing experimental strategies to generate patient-derived stem cells (induced pluripotent stem cells; iPSC) for basic and clinical research.
	Koster, Maranke	Stem Cells and Cancer Links My laboratory is interested in the mechanisms by which skin squamous cell carcinomas develop. To study this process, we genetically alter skin stem cells and determine whether this leads to tumor formation. These studies may ultimately lead to the development of novel treatments for patients with skin squamous cell carcinomas. Stem Cells and Disease Patients with ankyloblepharon ectodermal dysplasia and clefting (AEC) exhibit severe skin erosions as well as hair abnormalities. These abnormalities are caused, in part, by defects in epidermal and hair follicle stem cells of these patients. One goal of our laboratory is to further identify these defects and ultimately to design novel treatments for AEC patients. Stem Cells and Biology Links Research in my laboratory is aimed at identifying molecular mechanisms that regulate stem cells of the hair follicle. These stem cells are responsible for generating the entire hair follicle, and ultimately the hair shaft. By investigating how hair follicle stem cells function, we expect to gain insight into abnormalities in hair follicle stem cell function that occur in patients with certain hair disorders.
	Neff, Tobias	Stem Cells and Cancer Links Epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in the self-renewal of leukemia stem cells. A well documented example are leukemias caused by fusions of the Mixed-Lineage-Leukemia (MLL-) Gene. MLL-fusions lead to deregulation of stem cell programs, involving genes such as HOXA9 and MEIS1. I am interested in the role of chromatin modifiers in the aberrant self renewal of leukemic stem cells. I am currently focusing on the role of EZH2, a member of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). Both, hyper- and hypo-activity of PRC2 are associated with cancer, but the mechanistic underpinnings are unclear. I believe that a more detailed understanding of the role of PRC2 in epigenetic gene regulation will lead to improved therapies targeting aberrant self-renewal in leukemia and cancer. Stem Cell Biology Links I have an interest in the role of epigenetic modifiers in the maintenance and self-renewal of normal hematopoietic stem cells. A better understanding of stem cell programs has broad therapeutic implications for stem cell expansion and stem cell gene therapy.
	Niswander, Lee	Stem Cell Biology Links We study genetic mechanisms of neural progenitor fate and lung development.
	Pillai, Manoj	Stem Cell Biology Links The major focus our laboratory is to define cellular interactions in the marrow microenvironment (ME) that regulate the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). Regulatory networks of small RNAs in the ME is of particular interest and we use genome-wide approaches to isolate and study the RNA interactomes.
	Reynolds, Susan	Stem Cell Biology Links We are studying the roles for wnt/b-catenin signaling in cell fate determination within the tracheobronchial and bronchiolar stem cell hierarchies.
	Stenmark, Kurt	Stem Cell Biology Links We are looking at the role of bone marrow derived mesenchymal precursor cells in hypoxia-induced hypertension and remodeling.
	Williams, Trevor	Stem Cell Biology Links Our laboratory is interested in the transcription factors and signaling molecules that program cells in the early embryo to adopt either a trophoblast or embryonal cell fate. We are especially focused on the role of the transcription factor AP-2 gamma in this early stem cell fate decision.
	Wilusz, Carol	Stem Cell Biology Links Our lab is interested in understanding how post-transcriptional control contributes to reprogramming and pluripotency using human induced pluripotent stem cells as a model.
	Wilusz, Jeff	Stem Cell Biology Links Our lab is interested in understanding how post-transcriptional control contributes to reprogramming and pluripotency using human induced pluripotent stem cells as a model.
	Zhou, Wenbo	Stem Cell Biology Links I am interested in the purification of dopamine neurons from embryonic stem cells and the reprogramming of human somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells.

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