Our laboratory has been involved in developmental and postnatal developmental biology with an emphasis on myology for over a decade.

 

Our current work is centered around the initial identification of a novel regulatory factor called PW1. We propose that PW1 is a regulator of the 'SP' or mesoangioblast population of cells that are found in post-natal muscle which retain a high degree of plasticity and are of high therapeutic potential. The potential application of data acquired in these studies may aid in the use of stem cells in a clinical setting including an understanding of stem cell survival, expansion and responses to inflammatory cytokines.

 

We have also ellucidated novel roles for the tumor suppressor gene, p53 linking its well known role in regulating cell death pathways to cell fate outcomes in stem cells.

 

Our current interests concern murine models for aging and muscle atrophy to purification of multipotential stem cells from skeletal muscle.