Our goal is to improve human health by identifying targets and novel therapies that will advance regenerative medicine to treat blood disorders such as myelodysplasia and leukemia.

For that end, our team is working on deciphering the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to blood formation. These are the same mechanisms that are disrupted in blood disorders, therefore a better understanding of the basic biological mechanisms that operate naturally in the vertebrate organism will translate to the improvement of blood disorders.

We utilize the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as animal vertebrate model to study how blood is created during embryo development in vivo. This unique model allows us to have the entire context of an organism, that allows for blood formation deciphering. Once understood, in vitro experiments with human cells in combination with bioinformatics tools and single cell biology are utilized for the translation of the findings to human health.

Collaboration among disciplines and a collegial work environment are our strengths to make an impact for humanity.

Furthermore, we are committed to contribute to Iowa State University focus on providing excellent Biology education, facilitating an outstanding environment of training and support to the next generation of brilliant scientists.

And finally, we thank our funding support without which our research would not be possible!