The three major projects in the lab are:
(1) Hematopoiesis: We study mechanisms that regulate symmetrical selfrenewing hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) divisions (as observed in the fetal liver) vs.
(2) Pluripotent stem cell derived liver (hepatocytes and non-parenchymal liver cells) models: We are developing optimized differentiation schemes for hepatocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells, by evaluating the transcriptome, epigenome and metabolome of iPSC-derived hepatocytes in comparison with primary hepatocytes.
(3) Pluripotent stem cell derived neurodegeneration models: We and collaborators are creating models for neurodegenerative disorders (frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease and multiple sclerosis) using patient derived iPSC and CRISPR-mediated isogenic cells.