My lab studies the molecular biology and genetics of stem cells and regeneration in planarian flatworms. These worms have the remarkable ability to regenerate any part of their body in about one week following amputation or injury. This process relies on the function of a large pool of stem cells that can divide and differentiate to become any cell type needed to replace the missing tissues. Many genes must be turned on and off in a coordinated fashion to direct regeneration, and I am interested in how these changes in gene expression are regulated. I am currently looking at how epigenetic regulators, proteins that modify DNA or the histones it is wrapped around, function in stem cell maintenance and regeneration.
