«Martin's vision for genetic analysis of pluripotency, afforded by our extensive mouse resources, could lead to major advances in our understanding and manipulation of
stem cell behavior in health and disease.»
Similar to the naturally occurring effects of TET2 mutations in mice or humans, using molecular biology techniques to turn off TET2 in mice caused
abnormal stem cell behavior.
In the adult central nervous system, the vasculature of the neurogenic niche regulates
neural stem cell behavior by providing circulating and secreted factors.
Martin's vision for genetic analysis of pluripotency... could lead to major advances in our understanding and manipulation
of stem cell behavior in health and disease.
The research team led by Prof. Fiona Doetsch at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has now shown that the choroid plexus is a key component of the stem cell niche, whose properties change throughout life and
affect stem cell behavior.
The researchers also discovered an essential role for the mechanical properties, i.e. the physical stiffness, of the gel in regulating
intestinal stem cell behavior, shedding light on how cells are able to sense, process and respond to physical stimuli.
The study recently published in «Cell Stem Cell» also shows that signals secreted by the choroid plexus dynamically change during aging which affects
aged stem cell behavior.
In addition, we wish to characterize how variations in
neural stem cells behavior may account for the large expansion of the human brain, but also how alterations may lead to pathological brain development.
He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 2003 with a degree in biochemistry, and received his PhD from Princeton University in 2009 for work on the effects of extracellular matrix proteins on
embryonic stem cell behavior.
Identifying the reasons for reduced upd expression could reveal how aging leads to changes in
stem cell behavior, and counteracting these changes may slow the loss of adult stem cells during aging.
They observe that different regions of the gut are more susceptible to tumorigenesis upon inhibition of Notch signalling, suggesting regional differences in
stem cell behavior.