Controlling the Balance between Self Renewal and Differentiation

Stem cells differ from somatic cells by their unique capacity to renew themselves and to give rise to differentiated cell types. Gaining control over the molecular mechanisms of stem cell properties may provide a means to promote unlimited proliferation and/or dedifferentiation of somatic cells. Our research is aimed at the modulation of stem cell properties in target cell populations ideally without any genetic modification. Our approach includes the direct application of engineered recombinant pluripotency factors to cultured cells using protein transduction.

 

Targeted Differentiation for Neural Repair

In a second set of studies we analyze mechanisms of targeted differentiation of embryonic stem cells into neural lineages. To this aim we perform conditional mutagenesis of key genes that are involved in neural development in vitro. Our goal is to obtain highly purified ES cell-derived precursors for cell replacement strategies.