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The UCSC Training Program in Systems Biology of Stem Cells, funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), provides predoctoral and postdoctoral students with
a solid understanding of the biology of stem cells,
the skills to utilize stem cells in their own research, and
the ability to devise and use computational approaches in their stem cell research.
Program trainees receive guidance from UCSC faculty mentors that possess a wide range of expertise in areas critical for advancing stem cell research. The mentors draw from four different departments in the School of Engineering and the Division of Physical & Biological Sciences: Biomolecular Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology, and Applied Mathematics & Statistics.
Program director: David Haussler
Molecular, cell, & developmental biology faculty
http://www.biology.ucsc.edu/mcd/index.html
| Manny Ares |
Using alternative splicing microarrays to profile changes in splicing and transcription
during stem cell differentiation in the mouse,
as a means of understanding this form of regulation for cell type identity. |
| Bin Chen |
Using transgenic and knockout mice as a model system to research gene regulation
in cerebral cortex development, focusing on the processes that signal
neural stem cells to generate the hundreds of different types of neurons
and form the appropriate connections essential for brain function.
Manipulating gene expression in embryonic stem cells to direct them to
differentiate into corticospinal motor neurons.
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| David Feldheim |
Using mouse embryonic and adult stem cells and transgenic mice to study molecules in the ephrin family and how
their signaling pathways impact axon guidance and neural development in the central nervous system. |
| Lindsay Hinck |
Studying what appear to be stem-progenitor cells that proliferate in hyperplasias and tumor formations resulting from
loss-of-function mutations in a number of genes affecting mammary gland development. |
| Rohinton Kamakaka |
Investigating the changes that occur in chromatin as stem cells differentiate, how transgene expression affects the chromatin structure at the site of integration in pluripotent stem cells, and how the chromatin at a particular locus affects transgene expression during differentiation. This research holds promise for understanding how to couple stem cells with gene therapy for the remediation of genetic defects.
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| Susan Strome |
Investigating the mechanisms used by germ cells to establish and maintain their identity, immortality, and totipotency, with a focus on epigenetic control of chromatin organization and gene expression. Studying germ cells in the model organism C. elegans using a wide variety of approaches, including forward genetics, RNAi, imaging, molecular biology, biochemistry, and whole genome microarray-based technologies. |
| Bill Sullivan |
Drosophila oogenesis is proving to be an excellent system for studying fundamental molecular
and cellular mechanisms involved in stem cell renewal and differentiation. These stem cell divisions can be
readily visualized using a wealth of genetic reagents and through fixed and live fluorescent analysis.
Our lab is focusing on the role of conserved cell-cycle checkpoint genes in controlling the
stem cell division rate and daughter cell differentiation. |
| John Tamkun |
Using a combination of genetic, biochemical, and molecular approaches to study Drosophila chromatin-remodeling
complexes, including their roles in transcriptional regulation, structural maintenance, post-translational modifications,
and cell fate specification. |
| Martha Zúñiga |
Using transgenic mouse models to understand the role of epithelial cell differentiation in epidermal wound healing and in
cutaneous immune responses. Using transgenic and knockout mice to characterize the development and homeostatic maintenance of regulatory T cells. |
| Yi Zuo |
Using fluorescence-labeled transgenic mice and two-photon imaging to study glia-neuron interaction, structural plasticity during learning, and pathologies in the living mouse brain. One goal is to reveal the structural basis of motor rehabilitation in the post-stroke brain, with the aim of facilitating the design of improved stem cell-based therapies. |
Biomolecular engineering faculty
http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/departments/bme/
| Camilla Forsberg |
Studying
how stem cells make the decision to become a particular type of mature blood cell, and how this process goes wrong to cause disease.
Using a variety of approaches, including transgenic mouse models, transplantation assays, and bioinformatics. The long-term goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of cell fate decisions at the molecular, cellular, and systems biology levels that will facilitate our ability to direct specific fates and improve clinical applications of stem cell therapy. |
| David Haussler (Program Director) |
Using mouse ES cells to investigate the ultraconserved elements in the human genome, which
appear to be distal enhancers for key genes involved in early development. Incorporating embryonic stem cell expression data into the UCSC Genome Browser.
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| Jim Kent |
Constructing a lineage map of cell fates in mammalian embryos by using quantum dot technology to develop a system for
simultaneously labeling multiple surface markers on embryos and embryoid bodies and then computationally detecting the expression
patterns of these markers on the cellular level. Building a database and web interface for all large-scale data sets
collected from stem cell research, providing an integrated view of stem cell biology.
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| Josh Stuart |
On a genome-wide level, using computational inference of differently expressed genes to trace evolutionary origins,
regulatory networks, and chromatin dynamics in the developmental processes involved in the differentiation of blood
line stem cells in the mouse. |
Electrical engineering faculty
http://www.ee.ucsc.edu/
| Michael Isaacson |
Developing biomimetic systems, implantable electronic devices that interact with living tissues, to restore
abilities that have been lost through injury or disease. |
Applied mathematics & statistics faculty
http://www.ams.ucsc.edu/
| Marc Mangel |
Bringing evolutionary considerations to the forefront as we move towards stem cell therapies by exploring the evolutionary biology of stem cells, especially the probability of
renewal and the great variability shown by genetically identical stem cells from adjacent niches. Determining what sets the
number of stem cells in the villi. Investigating the
production of transit amplifying cells in response to challenges to the hematopoietic system. |
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