Stem Cells, Regeneration and Repair
Regeneration of cells in adult tissues has much in common with development and differentiation of cells in the embryo. These studies focus on identifying and manipulating stem and progenitor cells to promote regeneration and to generate tissues for transplantation.
- Kenneth Campbell, PhD, studies the molecular genetic control of mouse forebrain development with a particular focus on the generation of neuronal diversity in the ventral telencephalon.
- Jay Degen, PhD, employs genetics-based approaches to better define the physiological and pathological roles of hemostatic factors in vivo. A major focus is the use of gene-targeted mice with selected deficits in coagulation-, fibrinolytic- and platelet-factors to understand the contribution of these hemostatic system components to embryonic development, hemostasis, tissue repair, the inflammatory response and disease pathobiology. Disease contexts of particular interest include cancer, inflammatory joint disease, bacterial infection, and immunological disorders.
- Richard Lang, PhD, has a major interest in early development of the eye emphasizing the signaling and genetics of lens induction. His lab also studies how macrophages signal apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells during programmed vascular regression.
Visit the Lang lab site. - Masato Nakafuku, MD, PhD, studies development and regeneration of the mammalian central nervous system focusing on neural stem cells. His lab seeks to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neural development, and also to develop new therapeutic strategies to cure neurological diseases by applying stem cell technology.
Visit the Nakafuku lab site. - James Wells, PhD, researches the molecular mechanisms directing the early stages of endoderm organogenesis using mouse and chick as model systems. We are using information from our embryonic studies to direct the differentiation of mouse and human embryonic stem cells into cell types that will ultimately be used in cell replacement therapies to treat diseases such as Type 1 diabetes.
Visit the Wells lab site. - Dan Wiginton, PhD, uses transgenic mouse models and molecular techniques to investigate development and cell differentiation in the intestinal epithelium. Special emphasis is given to the genetic pathways and factors that control these processes. One model system studied is regulation of the adenosine deaminase gene in intestine.
- Christopher Wylie, PhD, studies the differentiation of the germ line, and its contribution to the development of the early embryo. In particular we study the behavior of early germ line cells, and the control of patterning of the early embryo by stored mRNAs and proteins in the oocyte, including the formation of the primary germ layers, and the role of the cytoskeleton in controling the architecture of the embryo.
Visit the Wylie-Heasman lab site.
