Adult and embryonic stem cells have enormous therapeutic potential. Haemopoietic stem cells have been the most intensely studied and widely used in a therapeutic setting, yet we have only a patchy knowledge of the genes required for their proliferation and survival. I will use classical genetic screens in the mouse to identify genes that regulate stem cell behaviour. I will analyse two existing mutant mouse strains with reduced numbers of haemopoietic stem cells, and execute a novel genetic scre ....Adult and embryonic stem cells have enormous therapeutic potential. Haemopoietic stem cells have been the most intensely studied and widely used in a therapeutic setting, yet we have only a patchy knowledge of the genes required for their proliferation and survival. I will use classical genetic screens in the mouse to identify genes that regulate stem cell behaviour. I will analyse two existing mutant mouse strains with reduced numbers of haemopoietic stem cells, and execute a novel genetic screen utilising mice with a defect in the self-renewal of adult haemopoietic and neural stem cells, to find mice with a recovered stem cell compartment.Read moreRead less
Identifying Genes That Function As Epigenetic Barriers To Cell Reprogramming
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,649.00
Summary
Stem cells can form many different cell types and show significant promise in cell therapies. New technologies allow the generation of stem cells from adult cell types such as skin cells, but these technologies are inefficient and typically introduce new genetic material to the cells. This project will develop new, more efficient approaches for producing stem cells potentially without the introduction of genetic material, thereby improving the use of these stem cells in therapies.