Find a Health Care Professional / Researcher

James M. Wells, PhD

Appointment

Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Email

james.wells@cchmc.org

Phone

513-636-8767

Fax

513-636-4317

Credentials

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

PhD: Genetics program, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1995. Sidney Strickland advisor.

Postdoctoral Fellow: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 1996 - 2001. Doug Melton advisor.

Awards and Honors

Capstone Lecturer, UC SURF Program Symposium, 2009
Translational Research Award, Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, 2008

Research

One aspect our research is focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of the pancreas, liver and biliary system. Another focus of this research is to use this information to improve child health in several ways:

To identify the molecular basis of congenital defects affecting the pancreas, liver, and biliary system.
To direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into therapeutic cells for replacement therapies, such as transplantable pancreatic beta cells for patients with type-1 diabetes.
To determine if molecular pathways that direct organ development might be involved in homeostasis and regeneration of adult tissues.

For more information, please visit the Wells lab web page.

Research Grants and Contracts

Active

NIH R01DK080823A1 (AM Zorn P.I., JM Wells P.I.) 15%
National Institutes of Health, NIDDK activation TBD
Title: Role of Wnt signaling in foregut
and liver development

NIH R01GM072915 (JM Wells, P.I.) 4/1/06 – 3/31/11 20%
National Institutes of Health, NIGMS $190,000/year direct
Mechanisms of endoderm specification
along the A-P axis.

JDRF 2-2003-530 (JM Wells, P.I.) 11/1/03 – 10/31/08 30%
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation $100,000/year direct
Career Development Award
Title: Promoting endodermal and pancreatic
differentiation of mouse ES cells.

JDRF 26-2008-894 (JM Wells, P.I.) 9/1/08 – 8/30/09 20%
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation $100,000/year direct
Title: Role of Sox17 in beta cell homeostasis
and regeneration

JDRF 3-2008-437 9/1/08 – 8/30/10 100%
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Trainee: JR Spence
Title: Using Developmental Paradigms to
Direct Human Endoderm into Beta Cells
Advisor: JM Wells

NIH P30 DK0789392 (MB Cohen, PI) 8/1/07 – 5/31/12
Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC)
Cincinnati Center for Growth and Development
JM Wells – Full Member

CCHMC TRA (JM Wells, P.I.) 6/1/08 – 5/31/09
Translational research award $50,000/year direct
Human Embryonic stem cell core

NIH 1 U54 RR025216 01 (HE Heubi, PI; J Tsevat.PI)
Type of award: Clinical and Translational Science Award
University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Section 11: MOLECULAR AND CELL THERAPY MATRIX PROGRAM AND TRANSLATIONAL CORES
Role: Director Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core 10%

Completed

NIH T32 HD07463       11/1/06 – 10/31/08
Training grant in Developmental and Perinatal Endocrinology (S Handwerger, PI)
Trainee: JR Spence
Title: Development of human endoderm and pancreas from ES cells
Advisor: JM Wells

BCBC/JDRF 31148-R (JM Wells, P.I.)    11/1/04 – 10/31/06
NIH beta cell consortium/JDRF     $75,000/year direct
Pilot and feasibility award
Promoting the differentiation of human embryonic
stem cells into endoderm and pancreas.

American Diabetes Association (JM Wells, P.I.) 6/1/03 – 6/31/06
Junior Faculty Award
Title: Promoting endodermal and pancreatic
differentiation of ES cells
P.I.: James Wells
Total Awarded: $409,000

JDRF Postdoctoral Fellowship 9/1/06 – 8/31/08
Trainee: BA Moore-Scott (relocated to GA in 2007)
Title: The role of FGFbp1 in endoderm patterning
Advisor: JM Wells

JDRF Postdoctoral Fellowship 11/04 – 10/31/06
Trainee: SC Lin
Title: The role of Klf5 in endoderm development
Advisor: JM Wells

University of Cincinnati Cancer Programs

Publications, Most Recent

James Wells's publications as listed by PubMed

Lange, A. W., Zorn, A. M., Keiser, A., Wells, J. M., and Whitsett, J. A. (2009). Sox17 Promotes Cell Cycle Progression and Inhibits TGF-β/Smad3 Signaling to Initiate Progenitor Cell Behavior in the Respiratory Epithelium. In Press PLoS Biol.

Zorn, A. M. and Wells J. M. (2009) Vertebrate endoderm development and organ formation. In press Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol.

Spence JR, Wells JM. Translational embryology: Using embryonic principles to generate pancreatic endocrine cells from embryonic stem cells. Dev Dyn 2007;236:3218.

Sinner D, Kordich JJ, Spence JR, Opoka R, Rankin, Lin SC, Jonatan D, Zorn AM, Wells JM. Sox17 and Sox4 differentially regulate beta-catenin/TCF activity and proliferation of colon carcinoma cells. Mol Cell Biol 2007;27:7802-15. | *This article is featured on the cover.

Moore-Scott BA, Opoka R, Kordich JJ, Lin S, Wells JM. Identification of molecular markers that are expressed in discrete anterior-posterior domains of the endoderm from the gastrula stage to mid-gestation. Dev Dyn 2007;1997-2003.

Sinner D, Wells JM, Zorn AM. (2007). Principals of Developmental Genetics, Chapter 14: Endoderm Formation. 2007, 295-315. Edited by Sally A. Moody. Elsevier Press.

Moore-Scott B, Wells JM. (2007). Principals of Developmental Genetics, Chapter 40: Patterning the embryonic endoderm into presumptive organ domains. 909-931. Edited by Sally A. Moody. Elsevier Press.

Zorn AM, Wells JM. Molecular basis of vertebrate endoderm development. International Review of Cytology: a Survey of Cell Biology 2007;259:49-111.

Wells JM, Esni F, Boivin GP, Aronow BJ, Stuart W, Combs C, Sklenka A, Leach SD, Lowy AM. Wnt/β-catenin is required for development of the exocrine pancreas. BMC Dev Biol 2007;7:4.

Park KS, Wells JM, Zorn AM, Wert SE, Whitsett JA. Sox17 Influences Differentiation of Respiratory Epithelial Cells. Dev Biol 2006;294(1):192-202.

Park KS, Wells JM, Zorn AM, Wert SE, Laubach VE, Fernandez LG, Whitsett JA. Transdifferentiation of ciliated cells during repair of the respiratory epithelium. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2006;34(2):151-7.

Dessimoz J, Kordich JJ, Opoka R, Grapin-Botton A, Wells JM. FGF signaling is necessary for establishing gut tube domains along the anterior-posterior axis in vivo. Mech Dev 2006;123(1):42-55.

Presentations, Most Recent

2009

Invited speaker, Symposium on Regenerating the Endocrine Pancreas, Kyoto Japan. July 27-August 1.
Session chair on stem cells and diabetes, American Diabetes Association’s 69th Scientific Sessions, June 6.
Invited speaker, OCS spring 2009 Molecular Biology Seminars: Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. MITRE Corporation, Virginia. May 13.
Invited speaker at the Ninth Annual Rachmiel Levine Diabetes and Obesity Symposium, City of Hope, CA. March 18-21.

2008

Invited speaker at the 3rd annual Stem Cells Meeting on the Mesa, La Jolla, CA. November 7-8.
Invited speaker at the Transatlantic Airway Conference, Lucern Switzerland, January 22-25.
Miami University, March.
University of Pennsylvania/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Developmental Biology, February 5.
CCHMC Board of trustees annual retreat, January 26.

2007

Invited speaker at the American Diabetes Association’s 67th Scientific Sessions, June 13.
Nebraska Medical Center, Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, February 28.

2006

SUNY Stony Brook, Department of Molecular Pharmacology, NY, November 28.
Speaker at the FEBS-EMBO workshop “Programming Pancreatic Beta Cells”, El Perello, Spain, October 19. Invited by graduate students as the Keynote speaker at the annual graduate students symposium, Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Graduate program, SUNY Stony Brook, NY, June 19.
Stem cell institute, Munich Germany, March.
ISREC, Lausanne Switzerland, March.