The molecular basis of cell fate decisions
My lab is interested in identifying the components (e.g. transcription factors, chromatin remodelers, epigenetic marks and metabolites) that determine cellular identity and the elements that can force cells to acquire an alternative fate. We study two major cell fate decision processes in the embryo: (i) Embryo vs placenta and (ii) sex determination. To that end we employ nuclear reprogramming, embryo manipulation and single-cell technologies.
Keywords
Embryonic stem cells / trophoblast stem cells / sex determination / reprogramming to pluripotency / direct conversion