The Cosgrove Laboratory develops and implements systems bioengineering approaches to study the signaling network dysregulations underlying the decline of stem cell function and tissue regeneration in aging and disease.
Adult stem cells are the engines of tissue regeneration. Usually held dormant, stem cells are sparked into action in response to injury and generate both the mature cells needed to repair tissue while also replenishing its stem cell reserve. This process is stimulated by a series of temporally and spatially staged microenvironmental factors. In aging, stem cell-driven tissue regeneration declines progressively due to altered composition of the extrinsic niche microenvironment as well as intrinsic changes to the signaling and transcriptional networks that underlie cell fate determination.
