Modeling Development and Disease
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employing in vitro systems for modeling normal tissue development and impairments caused by genetic aberrations or environment.
Ectoderm
Central Nervous System
hiPSCs can be differentiated into variety of neurons and glial cells suitable for studying inherited and acquired diseases of central and peripheral nervous systems. Among other projects, Dr. Elizabeth Proctor‘s laboratory studies the biology of neurons using Alzheimer’s cerebral organoids. To learn more, visit Dr. Proctor’s lab.
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) are a result of compromised development of the central nervous system and encompass but are not limited to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Developmental Delay (DD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID). Autism Susceptibility Candidate 2 (AUTS2) gene has been identified as one of most frequently disrupted genes in NDD. Dr. Zhonghua Gao’s laboratory employes pluripotent stem cells to study AUTS2 role in neurodevelopment and epigenetic regulation of gene expression in healthy and NDD affected neural cells.
Programing neurons
The transcriptional programing of PSCs into neurons is a multistep process. Dr. Shaun Mahony studied the dynamics of chromatin reassembly and TF binding during differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to fully functional neurons. To learn more about Dr. Mahony research, click here. Visit Dr. Mahony’s lab. To listen Dr. Mahony’s presentation about programing neurons study click here.
Eye development and disease
Eye is a very complex organ with multiple cells developing and functioning together. Dr. Sinisa Dovat and his lab are investigating the role of transcriptional factor Ikaros (IKZF2) in eye development. To read about Dr. Dovat research, click here.
Mesoderm
Cardiomyocytes
Cardiovascular diseases are leading cause of death in American population. The goal of Dr. Xiaojun Lance Lian research is to understand normal cardiomyocyte’s development and to establish effective methods for generation of engraftable, fully functional cardiomyocytes that can be used for therapies in human patients. To learn about Lance’s research, please click here.
Hemogenic endothelium and myeloid blood cells
During embryonic development, hematopoietic cells are produced from a rare population of hemogenic endothelial cells. Endothelial to hematopoietic transition can be recapitulated and studied in vitro with hiPSC-derived hemogenic endothelium. Dr. Irina Elcheva studies the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of hematopoiesis and applications of hiPSCs-derived hematoendothelial cells to developmental toxicity and drug screening. To learn more, click here.
Endothelial Cells of Blood-Brain-Barrier
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed of specialized endothelial cells that regulate inflow and outflow of substances into the brain. Dr. James Connor’s lab studies BBB with hiPSC-derived endothelial cells. Learn more about Dr. Connor’s research here.
Endoderm
Pancreas
A dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells is a cause of diabetic type 1, the disease which requires constant monitoring of glucose level in the blood stream and leads to multiple health issues associated with altered glucose metabolism. In addition to hiPSCs-derived cardiomyocytes, Dr. Xiaojun Lance Lian’s lab studies the biology and therapeutic potential of hiPSCs-derived pancreatic beta cells. To visit Dr. Xiaojun Lance Lian’s lab, click here.
Intestinal Epithelium
WNT signaling plays a critical role in the development of all gut compartments including intestinal epithelium. It maintains self-renewing stem cells that rejuvenate rapidly shedding epithelial cells of intestine. Dr. Vladimir Spiegelman lab studies the role of RNA binding protein IGF2BP1 in regulation of WNT signaling and the biology of colon and skin cancer. To learn more about Dr. Spiegelman’s research, click here.