Stem Cells—Explained and Explored
Stem Cell Researchers at Michigan
As a leading center of biomedical research, the University of Michigan has many scientists who have been attracted to the promising new frontier of stem cells. They hope to build new understanding of basic biology and perhaps improved medical treatments.
Across a wide array of topics, from repairing facial injuries to attacking cancer, all types of stem cell research are being done at Michigan, using both adult and embryonic stem cells from humans and animals. To see some recent press releases on their important work, please see “Stem Cell News” <news index.html>
Here are a few of the U-M researchers exploring stem cells:
 James Douglas (Doug) Engel, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Cell and Developmental Biology
Director, Center for Organogenesis
Engel’s lab studies the embryonic development of mammals to determine how tissues and organs are generated, and how embryonic cells are instructed to become specialized cells. He is interested in learning how chemical signaling between cells works and how, when it goes wrong, cancers and other diseases can occur. These studies have led to surprising insights into the developmental origin of the central and peripheral nervous system, the kidney, the cardiovascular system and blood.
Engel Lab >
 Paul Krebsbach DDS, Ph.D.
Donald A. Kerr Collegiate Professor of Oral Pathology
Chair of the Department of Biologic & Materials Sciences
Associate Professor of Dentistry and Biomedical Engineering
Krebsbach’s research focuses on bone growth and bone marrow with the goal of being able to help human tissue heal itself better and regrow missing or damaged areas. He is currently studying how human embryonic stem cells differentiate into bone tissue, using both cell cultures and biomaterial scaffolds in animal models. His work also compares the activity of embryonic stem cells to adult stem cells. His long-term goal is to understand the signals that specify bone cell differentiation of hES cells and work towards some day being able to grow replacement bone.
Krebsbach Lab >
Video Clip >
 Sean Morrison, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at the Life Sciences Institute
Associate professor of Molecular Medicine & Genetics in the Medical School
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Sean Morrison is investigating the mechanisms that regulate stem cell function in the nervous and blood-forming systems, particularly the mechanisms that regulate stem cell self-renewal, aging, and organ formation. His goal is to integrate what we know about stem cells in different tissues to understand the extent to which they employ similar or different mechanisms to regulate critical functions. He received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House, received the Rave Award from Wired magazine and has been named to Technology Review magazine's list of 100 young innovators.
Morrison Lab >
Profile by American Society for Cell Biology (PDF)
Video Clip > Dr. Morrison and Doctoral student Eve Kruger discuss why stem cell research is important to them, personally and professionally. (Real Media) (Windows Media) (Quicktime)
 K. Sue O’Shea, Ph.D.
Director, Michigan Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
O’Shea’s lab is focused on the cell-to-cell communication that occurs during formation of the nervous system. In particular, her group is interested in a protein, thrombospondin, that appears to be telling new nerve cells to migrate in specific ways to form parts of the brain. Embryonic stem cells are being used to study patterns of gene expression during formation of the retina in animal models.
She also heads the Michigan Center for hES Cell Research, which is an NIH-funded central resource for the U-M campus that helps researchers from many labs culture and work with human embryonic stem cell lines that are on the approved list for NIH-funding.
O’Shea Lab >
Video Clip >
 Max Wicha, M.D.
Director, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor of Internal Medicine
Dr. Wicha's research has explored the mechanisms which control the cellular growth, differentiation and death of normal and malignant cells in the mammary gland. In the course of this research, his team was the first to find stem cells in breast cancer. These cells appear to be more capable of starting new tumor tissue than are other tumor cells. The finding has spurred a new direction in cancer therapy research, and inspired the development of a new company OncoMed.
Press release on stem cells in breast cancer >
Wicha Lab >
Video Clip >
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