Developmental & Stem Cell Biology

BMS is home to numerous faculty members with research programs focused on fundamental questions in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. In addition to the focus area within BMS, a distinct Graduate Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology exists for those applicants who are committed to those topics. This program has a more focused curriculum including coursework, seminars, and journal clubs specific to Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. The BMS program maintains a more interdisciplinary curriculum, integrating multiple distinct focus areas with an overarching emphasis on biomedically relevant questions.


Most Developmental and Stem Cell Biology faculty members have appointments in both programs. Key topics of investigation among the faculty include cellular specification and differentiation, organogenesis, tissue morphogenesis and regeneration, and cell-cell signaling during development. A variety of model systems are used to pursue relevant topics in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, including worms, flies, fish, chickens, mice, and human-derived tissues and cells.

 

Participating Faculty

Tien Peng, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Research Summary: 
Contribution of mesenchymal niche to homeostasis, repair, and aging

Xianhua Piao, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Neuro-immune interplay in brain development and disease.

Sam Pleasure, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology

Katie Pollard, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Summary: 
Statistical and Computational Methods for the Analysis of Massive Genomic Datasets
Mentorship Development: 

4/26/19    Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS) with Sharon Milgram (Mission Bay)    
4/30/20    Mental Health in a Pandemic: Q&A for Faculty    
6/10/20    Tools and Tips for Virtual Learning    
6/1/20    Preventing Workplace Harrassment (online course)
6/29/20    DEI 101
7/7/20    Precise Language
8/7/20    History of Racism
8/18/20    Debunking Common Myths and Misconceptions about Sexual Harrassment
9/24/20     Black, Brown, and Bruised

Alex Pollen, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
We study how genetic changes that accumulated over the last 6 million years of human evolution influence specialized features of brain development using single cell genomics, cerebral organoid models of ape brain development, and genome engineering.

Jason Pomerantz, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Mesenchymal tissue regeneration

Aleksandar Rajkovic, PhD, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics

David Raleigh, PhD, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
We are interested in understanding how developmental signaling pathway drive the growth of brain tumors.

Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Signaling at the Primary Cilium, the Cell's Antenna

Paolo Rinaudo, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Tissue / Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Reprogramming of the embryo: Investigating the long term health effects of preimplantation embryo manipulation

John Rubenstein, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Genetic Control of Development and Diseases of the Forebrain

Carolyn Sangokoya, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Using functional + spatial molecular tools to study post-transcriptional RNA + metabolic networks at single cell resolution and in 3D; Re-engineering/re-wiring cell fates for regenerative therapies

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