Inhibiting Naturally Occurring Diapause in Pluripotent Stem Cell Cultures

The ultimate goal of my research is to screen inhibitors that will mimic naturally occurring diapause in pluripotent stem cells cultures (PSCs).

Developing a treatment for Lyme Disease

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a fatal autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease that is caused by a mutation in the Huntington gene, or HTT gene. The HTT gene encodes for the protein huntingtin. Wild type HTT gene contains a CAG trinucleotide of 10-35 repeats on exon 1 of chromosome 4. In mutated HTT, the CAG segment can be repeated from 36 to 120 times. The increased size of the CAG repeat encodes for an elongated form of the HTT protein. Once the elongated protein is produced, it is then cut into smaller toxic fragments.

Knockdown of SMOX and SAT1 to elucidate polyamine function within bone formation and proliferation in MSCs

Determining X Chromosome Inactivation Across Neuronal Differentiation in Patient-Derived Cells as a Putative Model to Study Epigenetic Editing Tools

Engineering extracellular mimics (EV-mimics) from plasma membranes

Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability and activity limitation worldwide. Previous research has indicated an association to lower back pain and fibrocartilage degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD). This degeneration is inevitable and occurs over time through daily strain from daily activities such as bending, lifting, and walking. Currently there is no treatment that effectively reverses fibrocartilage damage to the IVD. Previous research has used heterogeneous mixtures isolated from bone marrow or adipose tissue.

Improving the Clinical Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Increasing the yield of extracellular vesicles secreted from placental-derived mesenchymal stromal cells

Expanding iPSCs for Clinical Applications