One of the fundamental questions in developmental biology is how a single cell gives rise to a complex organism. More specifically, how a totipotent egg divides into cells that become increasingly restricted in their potential. Development is a process of increasingly restricted cellular potential, and here I home in on...
Neural stem and progenitor cell (NPC) fate specification is a crucial component of central nervous system development, and the myriad signaling pathways that guide it are poorly understood. In my thesis work, I aimed to elucidate signaling mechanisms of the bone morphogenetic protein family (BMP) and some of its targets...
Stem cells show great promise as cellular replacement and drug delivery therapies for a number of neurological disorders. This dissertation examines embryonic and adult types of stem cells, their plasticity, and mechanisms governing their development (Chapters 1-5). Our studies illustrate that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) signaling and bone morphogenetic protein...