Transplant Research

The Transplant Division performs cutting-edge research in basic science, translational/pre-clinical, as well as clinical research with a goal to find alternatives to organ transplantation and improve regenerative medicine outcomes. They approach this goal through various projects, including dissection of the molecular mechanisms of stem cell self-renewal vs. cell fate commitment, using stem/progenitor cells for transplantation, and producing novel cell-free reagents for regenerative medicine.

Specific ongoing projects within the Transplant Research group are using stem cell therapies and transplantation to treat life-threating liver-based genetic metabolic liver diseases and pursuing how mechanisms of stem cell engraftment in the liver can both model and define unique progenitor cell kinetics in vivo. Other work in the Division is focused on how post-transcriptional regulation such as splicing/alternative splicing, RNA localization/decay, and microRNA biogenesis affect early cell fate decisions, with the goal of identifying and dissecting the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell fate.

The Transplant Research group currently shares lab space with Dr. Mariano Garcia-Blanco (Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Dept.) that is outfitted with extensive cell culture facilities, an Opera Phenix High Content Imaging system, RT-qPCR machine, infrared western blot imager, flow cytometer, as well as other modern systems for cellular, molecular, and biochemical analyses.