The primary emphasis of my laboratory is to understand the genetic and molecular changes that determine stem cell behavior in health and disease, particularly cancer. Involvement of stem cells in leukemia, and the role of acquired genetic changes in these cells after exposure to DNA damaging agents during the aging process, is explored by applying genomic and proteomic technologies to understand molecular changes that occur during stem cell differentiation and proliferation. Some of these same approaches are used to define the molecular differences between cancers (breast and hematologic malignancies) that respond to therapy and those that are less responsive. While some of these studies are carried out on cell populations, it is increasingly important to be able to determine the molecular determinants on a single cell basis.

Collaborations with colleagues at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in instrumentation technology development and at UC Merced in computational biology provide exciting opportunities to link molecular analyses, state-of-the art instrumentation, and mathematical analysis to understand cell fate decisions in health and disease.