简介

Dr. April Pyle's laboratory is primarily interested in dissecting cell fate decisions required to maintain stable, pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and how this information may be applicable to embryonic development and cellular specification. How hESCs make decisions to survive, self-renew or differentiate is not currently well understood. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with cell fate decisions and what happens when these decisions go awry, leading to cellular transformation. It is becoming increasingly evident that genes known to perform critical roles during early embryogenesis, particularly during stem cell renewal, pluripotency and survival are also expressed during the development of cancer. Pyle's lab will use hESCs as a model system to examine not only stem cell biology and differentiation, but also to improve our understanding of cancer progression and human development.