Research Interests
Elucidating the mechanisms of cell fate determination
Mammals have evolved a myriad of methods by which diverse tissues are specified, develop, and then are maintained by stem cells. Our lab is focused on the transcriptional mechanisms that underlie each of these processes to not only understand development, but also cancer, where these processes go awry. Our lab uses human pluripotent stem cells to model the acquisition of cell fate early in the embryo, and adult mice to model the de-differentiation that is the basis for cancer formation.
Selected Publications
Hyeongsun Moon, Leanne R. Donahue, Eunju Choi, Philip O. Scumpia, William E. Lowry, Jennifer K. Grenier, Jerry Zhu, Andrew C. White, "Melanocyte Stem Cell Activation and Translocation Initiate Cutaneous Melanoma in Response to UV Exposure", Cell Stem Cell (2017).
Hazim RA, Karumbayaram S, Jiang M, Dimashkie A, Lopes VS, Li D, Burgess BL, Vijayaraj P, Alva-Ornelas JA, Zack JA, Kohn DB, Gomperts BN, Pyle AD, Lowry WE, Williams DS., "Differentiation of RPE cells from integration-free iPS cells and their cell biological characterization", Stem Cell Research and Therapy (2017).
Schell JC, Wisidagama DR, Bensard C, Zhao H, Wei P, Tanner J, Flores A, Mohlman J, Sorensen LK, Earl CS, Olson KA, Miao R, Waller TC, Delker D, Kanth P, Jiang L, DeBerardinis RJ, Bronner MP, Li DY, Cox JE, Christofk HR, Lowry WE, Thummel CS, Rutter J., "Control of intestinal stem cell function and proliferation by mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism", Nature Cell Biology 19: 1027-1036 (2017).
Flores A, Schell J, Krall AS, Jelinek D, Miranda M, Grigorian M, Braas D, White AC, Zhou JL, Graham NA, Graeber T, Seth P, Evseenko D, Coller HA, Rutter J, Christofk HR, Lowry WE., "Lactate dehydrogenase activity drives hair follicle stem cell activation", Nature Cell Biology 19: 1017-1026 (2017).
Xie Y, Lowry WE., "Manipulation of neural progenitor fate through the oxygen sensing pathway", Methods (2017). [link]
Gaeta X, Le L, Lin Y, Xie Y, Lowry WE., "Defining Transcriptional Regulatory Mechanisms for Primary let-7 miRNAs", PlosOne 12 (1): (2017). [link]
Patel S, Bonora G, Sahakyan A, Kim R, Chronis C, Langerman J, Fitz-Gibbon S, Rubbi L, Skelton RJP, Ardehali R, Pellegrini M, Lowry WE, Clark AT, Plath K., "Human Embryonic Stem Cells Do Not Change Their X Inactivation Status during Differentiation", Cell Reports 18: 54-67 (2017). [link]
Allison T, Lowry WE, "The reprogramming method matters", Nature Biomedical Engineering 1: 779-781 (2017).
M. Miranda, H. Christofk, D.L. Jones, W.E. Lowry, "Topical inhibition of the electron transport chain can stimulate the hair cycle", Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2017). [link]
Nih LR, Moshayedi P, Llorente IL, Berg AR, Cinkornpumin J, Lowry WE, Segura T, Carmichael ST., "Engineered HA hydrogel for stem cell transplantation in the brain: Biocompatibility data using a design of experiment approach", Data Brief 10: 202-209 (2016). [link]
Germanguz I, Lowry WE., "RNA editing as an activator of self-renewal in cancer", Stem Cell Investigation (2016). [link]
Gu W, Gaeta X, Sahakyan A, Chan AB, Hong CS, Kim R, Braas D, Plath K, Lowry WE, Christofk HR., "Glycolytic Metabolism Plays a Functional Role in Regulating Human Pluripotent Stem Cell State", Cell Stem Cell (2016).
Moshayedi P, Nih LR, Llorente IL, Berg AR, Cinkornpumin J, Lowry WE, Segura T, Carmichael ST., "Systematic optimization of an engineered hydrogel allows for selective control of human neural stem cell survival and differentiation after transplantation in the stroke brain", Biomaterials 105: 145-155 (2016). [link]
Flores A, Grant W, White AC, Scumpia P, Takahashi R, Lowry WE., "Tumor suppressor identity can contribute to heterogeneity of phenotype in hair follicle stem cell-induced squamous cell carcinoma", Experimental Dermatology 25: 721-742 (2016). [link]
White A, Flores A, Ong J, Lowry WE., "Hmga2 is dispensable for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma", Experimental Dermatology 25: 409-412 (2016). [link]