Research Basis:
Stem cells give rise and maintain many tissues. During its life, a stem cell can follow one of three fates: 1) it can self-renew, preserving a constant pool of stem cells in the tissue, 2) it can differentiate into different cell types, or 3) it can die. Signals from the environment, either from other cells or soluble factors, can activate a genetic program within the stem cell, inducing its differentiation into a particular cell type. The activation of a genetic program is mirrored by the silencing of other alternative genetic programs. In this way, the stem cell reaches a point where it is irreversibly committed to a particular cell fate. Using the hematopoietic stem cell as a model, my lab studies the microenvironmental and genetic signals required for stem cell function and lymphocyte development. In particular, we are interested in the role of the transcription factor GATA-3 in the commitment and differentiation of stem cells into T cells.
