Cell maturation
We are interested in understanding how cells become functionally specialized, or “mature”.
Deciphering how genes & the environment program adaptive functioning will unlock mastery over the fates of cells, transforming regenerative medicine.
We are unraveling genetic, chromatin, and translation circuits that govern cell maturity states in health and disease.
Circadian developmental control
We investigate the interplay between circadian rhythms, metabolism, and cellular maturation.
Understanding how circadian metabolic fluctuations impact organ-level physiology offers a path to harness control of stem-cell derived organoids destined for human therapeutics.
We are exploring circadian feeding-fasting rhythms as a general approach for in vitro organoid maturation.
Curing diabetes
Islet transplantation can cure insulin-dependent diabetes, but scarcity and quality of cadaveric donor islets limits this approach.
Islets grown in the laboratory, from renewable sources such as stem cells, offer a limitless cell supply for transplantation therapy and disease research.
We are using human stem cell-derived pancreatic islet organoids to develop new islet replacement therapies, and to study the development, physiology, and pathology of human islets.
