In our lab we investigate how signaling pathways and chromatin cooperate to regulate the expression of genes during development and disease. A central aspect of our research is aimed at understanding how this interaction regulates:
- The exit of pluripotency and specification of germ layers during gastrulation.
One of our research lines in this topic focuses on deciphering how the Hippo-YAP1 signaling pathway regulates chromatin structure to orchestrate cell-fate decisions in hESCs and gastrulating epiblast.
- The differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells during heart formation.
DiGeorge Syndrome is a genetic disease that causes developmental defects in many organs, including the heart. We are working on identifying downstream pathways affected by this genetic mutation that contribute to heart malformation. We are also interested in understanding how environmental exposure during pregnancy influence the heart phenotypes in this syndrome.
- Maladaptive plasticity in differentiated cells.
Drugs of abuse, including cocaine and heroin, behave as signaling molecules that regulate cellular activities in different organs, including brain and heart. Multiple exposure to drugs lead to permanent changes in the targeted cells, a process known as maladaptive plasticity. We are interested in identifying epigenetic mechanisms that underly drug-induced maladaptive plasticity in neurons and heart cells.
To address these exciting questions, we incorporated a range of in vitro and in vivo systems in the lab using hESCs, iPSCs and mouse models:
- 2D-gastruloids
- 3D-gastruloids
- Cardiac Microchambers
- 2D-neuruloids
- In vivo analysis of embryonic gastrulation
- In vivo analysis of the embryonic heart
Furthermore, we apply cutting-edge approaches to address our biological questions, including, but not limited to:
- Single-cell -omics
- Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin (ATAC-seq)
- Chromatin Immunoprecipitation coupled to sequencing (ChIP-seq)
- Global Run-On sequencing (GRO-seq)
- RNAscope
