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Paul J. Simmons, Ph.D. 1985, University of Manchester The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston |
Research Interests:
The research in my laboratory is directed at studying the fundamental properties of stem cells and to translate their unique biological properties into novel cellular therapies for graft engineering and tissue regeneration for currently intractable disorders. Current studies focus on the characteristics and biological properties of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and in defining the cell and molecular composition of the respective niches for these two stem cell populations during ontogeny and in the adult skeleton. Additional studies focus on the identification of stem cells in the adult kidney, heart and lung as a means to develop novel cellular therapies for treatment of the many disorders that currently affect these organ systems. The laboratory makes extensive use of flow cytometry, microarray-based transcriptional profiling, the development of specific monoclonal antibodies and novel transplant assays as the means to identify and characterize stem cells in adult tissues.
A tutorial in my laboratory would provide experience in the isolation and characterization of stem cells from a range of adult tissues. This would incorporate use of multi-colour flow cytometric analysis and cell sorting; in vitro clonogenic assays; in vivo transplant models in mouse models; the development and application of monoclonal reagents to phenotypically and functionally dissect tissues as a means to identify stem cell populations.