Our laboratory focusses on the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of hematopoietic development during various stages of organismal (embryonic versus adult) and cellular (stem, progenitor, and effector) development in mammals. This includes determination of molecular players and events, both genetic and epigenetic, regulating commitment, generation, differentiation and function of multiple blood lineage cells. These investigations involve the murine model system and also in vitro manipulation of primary and cultured (transformed) cells.
Recent work in the lab has illustrated novel regulatory mechanisms for fine tuning epigenetic activity and modulating cellular differentiation during normal erythroid (red blood cell) and megakaryocytic (platelet lineage) development. These processes are crucial for optimal gene expression during normal development and could be potentially applicable for therapeutic intervention in blood cell disorders and malignancies. Recently, the laboratory research has also diversified to explore intersections between transcriptional regulation, chromatin function, signal transduction cascades and cytoskeletal alterations in co-ordinating lineage specification and determination. These processes will be examined in detail upon in vivo genetic ablation or manipulation of candidate genes. In parallel new players and pathways involved in the above developmental systems and processes will be identified by chromatin immmunoprecipitation (ChIPseq), expression profiling (RNAseq) and protein-protein interaction (affinity purification and mass spectrometric analysis) screens and the newly identified candidates characterized for their biochemical activities and physiological functions.