About Us

 

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.

Recently, our laboratory’s research is focused on the development of various human organoids/assembloids to precisely model a variety of complex human diseases including cancers and neurodevelopmental diseases. Using a novel concept of human organoids, we study the complex signaling networks that operate in the human tissues through their niches during tissue homeostasis and regeneration, and in various human diseases for the ultimate development of better therapeutic options.