About
How does a fertilized egg give rise to an entire animal? How do billions of cells “know” how to work together to make complex tissues and organs? Where are stem cells found in animals and what makes cell a stem cell? How do stem cells replace cells that are lost in disease or through injury? How do animals give rise to eggs and sperm that give rise to the next generation? UCI scientists in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology focus area study these and other fundamental questions in the fields of stem cells, embryonic development and regeneration. We study these questions in all major model organisms, including the fruit fly, zebrafish, frog, mouse and human, but also actively work in less traditional, emerging model systems. We use all the techniques of modern molecular biology such as CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, next generation sequencing, including single-cell sequencing and advanced microscopy, including light sheet and label-free imaging. Using unique strengths of UCI in Systems Biology, we also apply mathematics and computational modeling when looking for answers to the above questions. Ultimately our goal is to address some of biology’s most burning questions, not just because they are interesting but because the answers to these questions will help us solve some of the most pressing problems facing our species and our planet.
Featured Videos
Michael Hicks
Physiology & Biophysics
Skeletal muscle, muscle stem cells, and iPSCs with a focus on regeneration and cell therapies for muscle wasting diseases
mrhicks1@uci.edu
Katherine L Thompson-Peer
Developmental & Cell Biology
Neuronal regeneration after injury; dendrite regeneration
ktpeer@uci.edu
Michael Parsons
Developmental & Cell Biology
Role of stem cells and facultative progenitors in development and regeneration of insulin-producing cells
mparson1@uci.edu
Faculty
- Kavita Arora, karora@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Drosophila development; TGF-b signal transduction; cell signaling - Pierre Baldi, pfbaldi@ics.uci.edu, Computer Science, Biological Chemistry, and Development & Cell Biology
Bioinformatics, computational biology, probabilistic modeling, and machine learning - Kevin Beier, kbeier@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
Identifying how experience modulates activity dynamics in neural circuits, both acutely and chronically - Bruce Blumberg, blumberg@uci.edu, Developmental and Cell Biology
Gene regulation by nuclear hormone receptors in vertebrate development & adult physiology Epigenomic analysis of gene-environment interactions - Remi Buisson, rbuisson@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
Genomic instability, DNA repair and mutagenesis in cancer - Anne L. Calof, alcalof@uci.edu, Anatomy & Neurobiology and Developmental & Cell Biology
Regulation of stem cells in development and regeneration; genomic strategies for understanding the etiology and treatment of human neurodevelopmental disorders using transgenic mouse models - Ken W.-Y. Cho, kwcho@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Transcriptomic and epigenomic analysis in early vertebrate development - Olivier Cinquin, ocinquin@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Systems biology of cell differentiation - Xing Dai, xdai@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
Skin and mammary stem cells, Wnt signaling, chromatin, transcription - Peter J. Donovan, pdonovan@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry, Department of Developmental & Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics of Germ Cell and Stem Cell Development - Dae Seok Eom, dseom@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Intercellular signaling in stem cells and tissue remodeling - Michael Hicks, mrhicks1@hs.uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics Skeletal muscle, muscle stem cells, and iPSCs with a focus on regeneration and cell therapies for muscle wasting diseases
- Matt Inlay, minlay@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Molecular mechanisms regulating developmental fate decisions in embryonic and adult hematopoiesis in mouse and humans. - Evgeny Kvon, ekvon@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Developmental and Cell Biology Using a combination of novel genomics tools, genome editing, and mouse developmental biology techniques to understand transcriptional regulation by enhancers in the context of mammalian development, evolution, and human congenital disorders
- Arthur D. Lander, adlander@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology and Pharmacology
Mechanisms of growth factor action; extracellular matrix; developmental neurobiology; systems biology - Ulrike Luderer, uluderer@uci.edu, Medicine, Developmental & Cell Biology and Public Health
Reproductive toxicology, developmental toxicology - Grant MacGregor, gmacg@uci.edu, Developmental Biology
Gametogenesis in the mouse - Edwin S. Monuki, emonuki@uci.edu, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Developmental & Cell Biology
Cerebral cortex development and disease - Michael Parsons, mparson1@uci.edu, Developmental and Cell Biology
Role of stem cells and facultative progenitors in development and regeneration of insulin-producing cells - Maksim Plikus, plikus@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Stem cells and stem cell niche, Regeneration of tissues and organs, Biological pattern formation, Self-organization, Skin and hair follicles, Adipose tissue, WNT and BMP signaling pathways - Tom Schilling, tschilli@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Skeletal and neural patterning; mutational analysis and molecular genetics in the zebrafish - Robert E. Steele, resteele@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
Molecular biology of Hydra development - Leslie M. Thompson, lmthomps@uci.edu, Psychiatry and Biological Chemistry
Molecular and biochemical mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches to human neurodegenerative disease - Katherine L Thompson-Peer, ktpeer@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Neuronal regeneration after injury; dendrite regeneration - Momoko Watanabe, momokow@uci.edu, Anatomy & Neurobiology Human brain organoids as a model system for neural development and disease
- Rahul Warrior, rwarrior@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Developmental regulation of proteoglycan biosynthesis; Transcriptional response to BMP growth factor signaling - Weian Zhao, weianz@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Stem cell engineering and clinical translation, molecular sensors and diagnostics, single-cell analysis and screening, cancer immunotherapy
Faculty – Secondary Affiliation
- Bogi Andersen, bogi@uci.edu, Medicine and Biological Chemistry
Transcriptional regulation in the developmental biology of epidermis and mammary gland - Alexander Boiko, aboiko@uci.edu, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Isolation and Characterization of Tumor Initiating Cells from melanoma
patients - Daniela Bota, dbota@uci.edu, Neurology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
The mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced cognitive damage, and differential mechanisms governing glioma stem cell versus neural stem cell differentiation - Adriana Briscoe, abriscoe@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.
Evolution of sensory systems - Dongbao Chen, dongbaoc@uci.edu, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Angiogenesis and perinatal vascular biology - Christopher C.W. Hughes, cchughes@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Molecular biology of developmental and tumor angiogenesis - Kai Kessenbrock, kkessenb@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
Microenvironmental Control of Stem Cells and Cancer - Thomas E. Lane, tlane@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Defining the molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to both host defense and disease following viral infection of the central nervous system (CNS) - Selma Masri, smasri@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
Circadian Clock disruption and its links to cancer, stem cell biology and metabolism - Medha Pathak, medhap@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
How mechanical forces shape neural stem cells behavior in vitro and in vivo; Transduction of mechanical forces by the Piezo1 ion channel. - Suzanne B. Sandmeyer, sbsandme@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
Molecular genetics of a position-specific yeast retrovirus-like element - Xiaoyu Shi, xiaoyu.shi@ucsf.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Interested in developing new in situ multiomics methods, by leveraging Super-resolution Microscopy, Expansion Microscopy and multiomics - Sha Sun, shasun@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
Long noncoding RNAs in epigenetic programming - Armando Villalta, armando.villalta@uci.edu, Physiology and Biophysics
Immune cell and organ system interactions that promote tissue injury and repair - Craig M. Walsh, cwalsh@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Apoptotic mechanisms in immune development and homeostasis - Ping Wang, phwang@uci.edu, Medicine, Biological Chemistry, Physiology & Biophysics, and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Molecular hormone actions in diseases and stem cells - Marian L. Waterman, marian.waterman@uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
Regulation of LEF-1 gene expression in lymphocytes and cancer - Zeba Wunderlich, zeba@uci.edu, Developmental and Cell Biology
Experimental and computational approaches to understanding gene regulation in animals