Project 1. Adult stem cells in the oral mucosa
The oral mucosa is composed of various types of squamous epithelia. The biology of adult stem cells and their niche is poorly understood in this region. We use mouse genetics, gene editing, single cell sequencing, and unbiased lineage tracing to address this issue. Some of the subjects we are working on:
- 1) The characteristics and clonal dynamics of adult stem cells during regeneration and tumorigenesis
- 2) The development of organoid models with improved disease specificity and heterogeneity: The organoids are developed for disease modeling and personalized drug screening in collaboration with clinicians and engineers.
- 3) The regulation of protein traffic in quiescent stem cells, typically for immune evasion
Project 2. Pathogenesis of autoimmunity
Autoimmunity is the harmful state of a person’s immune system targeting itself. We are investigating the pathogenesis of antibody-based autoimmunity based on channelopathy, which is the dysfunction of ion channels in a cell. We believe that channelopathies are deeply associated with autoimmune diseases of the heart, skeletal muscles, nerves, and glands. In collaboration with other teams at the CGE, we are building a model for autoimmune channelopathy.