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James M. Wells, PhD

  • Director for Research, Division of Endocrinology
  • Chief Scientific Officer, Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM)
  • Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
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About

Biography

The focus of his teams basic research has been to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in the embryonic development of endocrine cells including pancreatic beta cells and tissues of the gastrointestinal tract. Their translational projects have focused on identifying new approaches to improve child health in several ways: 1. To identify and use embryonic pathways to generate complex, three-dimensional organ tissues from pluripotent stem cells, 2. Use these tissues to develop new in vitro human models for diabetes and digestive disease research and 3. Develop long-term, therapeutic strategies for cell and tissue-replacement therapies.

BS: Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 1987

PhD: Graduate program in Genetics, SUNY at Stony Brook, New York, 1995

Postdoctoral Fellow: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1996-2001

Services and Specialties

Interests

Understanding the development of the pancreas, and gastrointestinal organs; generating 3-dimensional human tissues from pluripotent stem cells and using these as human models of diabetes and digestive disease.

For more information, please visit the CuSTOM web page.

Research Areas

Publications

Promoting Human Intestinal Organoid Formation and Stimulation Using Piezoelectric Nanofiber Matrices. Poling, HM; Singh, A; Kongsomros, S; Sheth, M; Krutko, M; Reza, AA; Srivastava, K; Wells, JM; Helmrath, MA; Esfandiari, L. Tissue Engineering - Part A.. 2026; 32(17-18):604-615.

Designing complex organoids through developmental principles. Brassard, JA; Wells, JM. Cell Stem Cell. 2026; 33(7):1084-1097.

SUN-056 The National Biorepository and Resource for Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor Translational Research (BioPitNeT) Zavros, Y; Little, AS; Santagata, S; Wells, JM; Mayhew, C; Kim, AH; Zada, G; Chakrabarti, J; Eschbacher, JM; Yuen, KCJ; Pandey, R; Mochel, JP; Allenspach, K; Jordan, G. Journal of the Endocrine Society. 2025; 9(Supplement_1):bvaf149.1641.

A multimodal cross-species comparison of pancreas development. Yang, K; Spitzer, H; Sterr, M; Hrovatin, K; De La O, S; Zhang, X; Setyono, ESA; Ud-Dean, M; Walzthoeni, T; Flisikowski, K; Wolf, E; Kemter, E; Theis, FJ; Lickert, H. Nature Communications. 2025; 16(1):9355.

Co-development of mesoderm and endoderm enables organotypic vascularization in lung and gut organoids. Miao, Y; Pek, NM; Tan, C; Jiang, C; Yu, Z; Iwasawa, K; Shi, M; Kechele, DO; Sundaram, N; Pastrana-Gomez, V; Zorn, AM; Chen, Y-W; Guo, M; Gu, M. Cell. 2025; 188(16):4295-4313.e27.

Eicosatetraynoic Acid Regulates Profibrotic Pathways in an Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Macrophage-Human Intestinal Organoid Model of Crohn's Disease. Jurickova, I; Dreskin, BW; Angerman, E; Bonkowski, E; Nguyen, J; Villarreal, R; Tominaga, K; Iwasawa, K; Braun, T; Takebe, T; Helmrath, MA; Haberman, Y; Wells, JM; Denson, LA. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis. 2025; 19(2).

Deriving Human Intestinal Organoids with Functional Tissue-Resident Macrophages All From Pluripotent Stem Cells. Tominaga, K; Kechele, DO; Sanchez, JG; Vales, S; Jurickova, I; Roman, L; Asai, A; Enriquez, JR; Mccauley, HA; Kishimoto, K; Zorn, AM; Helmrath, MA; Denson, LA; Wells, JM. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CMGH). 2025; 19(4):101444.

A Cell Marker Atlas to Distinguish Metaplastic Transitions in Human Esophagus and Stomach. Dunbar, KJ; Lee, S-H; Won, Y; Esquea, EM; Yang, JY; Kechele, DO; Ryeom, S; Abrams, JA; Mckeon, FD; Wells, JM; Que, J; Wang, TC; Rustgi, AK; Goldenring, JR. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CMGH). 2025; 19(12):101611.

Exploring optimal protocols for generating and preserving glucose-responsive insulin-secreting progenitor cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Tornabene, P; Wells, JM. European Journal of Cell Biology. 2024; 103(4):151464.

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids repair damaged bowel in vivo. Poling, HM; Sundaram, N; Fisher, GW; Singh, A; Shiley, JR; Nattamai, K; Govindarajah, V; Cortez, AR; Krutko, MO; Ménoret, S; Mayhew, CN; Takebe, T; Mahe, MM; Helmrath, MA. Cell Stem Cell. 2024; 31(10):1513-1523.e7.

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