줄기세포 및 인체질환발생 연구실

Our laboratory is interested in the signaling networks that operate in stem cell regulation during tissue homeostasis and regeneration, and in various diseases including cancers. We are particularly interested in signaling pathways that play important roles during embryonic patterning because these pathways have increasingly been recognized for their post-embryonic roles in the maintenance of tissue integrity and tumor initiation and growth, and seem to exert their post-embryonic effects through the regulation of tissue stem cell physiology. We address questions such as how stem cells mediate the repair of injured tissues, what is the role of developmental signaling pathways in stem cell-mediated tissue regeneration, and how dysregulation of these pathways and stem cell activity lead to the development of diseases including cancer. Our laboratory currently focuses on three major areas: 1) Stem cell interaction with its microenvironment during tissue regeneration and in various human diseases, 2) Development of 3-dimensional in vitro miniature organ systems for precise therapeutic intervention of various human diseases with genetic variability including cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, and 3) Novel strategy for regenerative medicine with a focus on in vivo tissue reprogramming and genome engineering. To this end, we uses various in vitro/in vivo approaches including mouse genetics and stem cell organoid cutture.