Our lab uses zebrafish as a genetic model system to understand how hematopoietic and cardiac progenitor/stem cell populations are established during vertebrate development. The zebrafish system offers excellent genetic, genomic, and transplantation strategies to study progenitor fate determination and stem cell biology. Since the developmental genetics of organ formation are highly conserved between teleosts and mammals, the pathways affecting fate decisions in zebrafish can be directly compared to that of humans. These analyses will therefore allow for the experimental manipulation of programs integral to embryogenesis, organ function, and disease. We are currently using small molecule chemical screens, morpholino-mediated gene knockdown, and transgenic approaches to decipher the fundamental pathways governing stem cell fate decisions (Learn More).

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