Stem Cell Biology & Related Projects
Overview - In addition to our laborartory's primary research projects, we also collaborate with a number of investigators from various disciplines on projects examining fundamental principles of stem cell biology and opportunities to develop new enabling technologies to advance stem cell research. A few examples of ongoing projects are described below.
Epigenetic regulation - The organization of chromatin within the nuclei of stem cells undergoes significant changes during the course of differentiation. Histone proteins play key roles in the structural organization of DNA and regulate transcriptional activity at the epigenetic level. In collaboration with Dr. Yuhong Fan, we are interested in examining changes in histone expression associated with stem cell differentiation and determining the functional effects of specific histone isoforms in stem cell fate decisions.