Neurogenesis is the process of generating new neurons from undifferentiated neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs). Currently, the functional role of the NSPCs in the subgranular zone (SGZ) is largely attributed to the new neurons that NSPCs create. However, Recent study showed the hippocampal progenitors secrete large quantities of the essential growth factor VEGF in vitro and vivo. These findings arise the possibility that NSPCs could be an unexpected source of VEGF in the brain. Interestingly, after a seizure, the VEGF levels highly increase.

Neural Crest Stem Cells (NCSC) are a multipotent population of stem cells that arise from the neural plate border and possess the ability to migrate ventrally throughout the developing embryo. NCSCs retain multipotency prior to migration, during, and after migration, and are capable of differentiating into a variety of cells including cartilage, bone, melanocytes, autonomic neurons, and Schwann cells among others. During development cranial NCSCs migrate into the first and second pharyngeal arch and differentiate into the bones and cartilage that make up the craniofacial structure.

In order to study disease in physiologically relevant cell models, it is important to develop technologies that enable efficient control of gene expression. Using the newly developed CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) technology, we aim to interrogate genes involved in iPSC growth and maintenance at the whole-genome level. CRISPRi utilizes a deactivated Cas9 enzyme with a fused KRABs domain (dCas9-KRAB) for gene silencing. We have generated a genome-wide kinase and phosphatase library of 13,000 single guide RNAs designed to target 2600 genes.

The Petritsch lab at UCSF investigates many processes of one of the most important organ in the body, the brain. One of your main goals is to understand the development and maturation of myelinating cells called oligodendrocytes (OLG). OLG cells constituting 2-9% of the total cells in the adult brain are the largest proliferating population. These unique cells originate from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC) that express the NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan.

The Calos lab is focused on creating therapies for the treatment of various muscular dystrophies. Muscular dystrophies are a collection of diseases characterized by increasing muscle weakness and wasting as the affected individual gets older. The most progressive and lethal of these myopathies is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, DMD is the result of a mutation in the dystrophin gene. This disease is sex linked, affects 1 in 3500 live male births and causes wasting to the muscles of the skeletal and cardiac systems.

The Fan Yang Laboratory focuses in Biomaterials and Stem Cells engineering for tissue engineering and targeted drug delivery. One of the major focuses of the lab is the eradication of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) using adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs). Due to the delicate anatomical location of GBM (the brain), surgical removal is often times precluded, dramatically reducing clinical outcomes. Adipose derived stem cells are an abundant source of adult stem cells that possess unique tumor-tropic abilities coordinated by a myriad of tumor-secreted signals.

Psoriasis is the most common inflammatory skin disease affecting 1-3% of the world’s population. Both keratinocyte cells and immune cells are central in the disease pathogenesis. The Marinkovich Lab at Stanford University has established that psoriatic keratinocytes have an intrinsic predisposition for Rac1 hyperactivation. Rac1 is a small GTPase known to regulate many important cellular processes, including those mediating cell cytoskeletal rearrangements, cellular migration, cell-cell adhesion, and the cell cycle.

Increasing evidence suggests cell-to-cell communication is possible via extracellular RNAs (exRNAs). Regulation of gene expression through microRNAs (miRNAs) has long been established as an endogenous mechanism for fine-tuning expression post-transcriptionally. These small RNAs can prevent translation by binding to the 3’-UTR (untranslated region) of a target mRNA transcript. Recently, many studies have suggested miRNAs can act intercellularly (as exRNAs), potentially broadening their role in many biological processes.

Genome editing is one of the forefront topics of science with vast potential uses. One large application is the effects that precise genome editing will have on the field of regenerative medicine. Precise genome editing for therapeutic purposes is difficult to achieve because it requires the pathway of homology directed repair (HDR) to be active rather than non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) which results in deleterious insertions or deletions in the DNA. These pathways are distinct and are regulated by different enzymes.

A heterozygous missense mutation in the H3F3A gene, which encodes a lysine-27-to-methionine substitution in the replication-independent histone H3.3, has been implicated as the main tumor driver in a subset of pediatric high-grade gliomas. This mutant histone variant, H3.3-K27M, alters normal histone marks and promotes a globally hypomethylated DNA landscape. Recent evidence has led to speculation that this mutation promotes gliomagenesis, exclusively, in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to form diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs).