Students Profiles
Research Interests:I’m interested in understanding the processes that are needed to regulate stem cells throughout life. Adult stem cells, such as hematopoietic stem cells or germline stem cells, have the remarkable ability to continually self-renew and replenish differentiated cells that need to be replaced. Normal tissue homeostasis requires precise control over stem cell division and differentiation, and unregulated stem cell growth is a pathologic feature of cancers and disease. Regulation of stem cells is achieved by both extrinsic signals and intrinsic factors that instruct the cell either to self-renew/divide or to differentiate into mature cells. Investigations into stem cell regulation have demonstrated that stem cells reside within sophisticated microenvironments, called niches, where neighboring cells provide the signaling milieu needed for regulating self-renewal and differentiation. The molecular mechanisms needed to maintain stem cells within these niches, however, are still unclear. I’m applying biochemical, genetic and cell biology approaches to understand the molecular components involved stem cell maintenance and niche function. |
Yung Lyou
"In addition to my primary investigator, I've had several other mentors," said Yung Lyou, who studies genetic eye disorders. "By collaborating with Frank Middleton, PhD, our Microarray core facility director, I've been able to run screens on thousands of genes at one time. That's interdisciplinary. I was also able to take a two-week course at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, so that I could learn other techniques to help me in my research here." |
