Current Research Interests

Angiogenesis.
We are interested in determining functions of novel molecules regulating angiogenesis including receptors such as GPCRs, microRNAs and secreted molecules. We found that GPR124 is essential for developmental brain angiogenesis (Kuhnert et al, Science 2010) and are exploring this receptor's function in adult pathophysiology. We have several active projects in stroke and blood-brain barrier (BBB) biology. We are also exploring the functions of the endothelial miRNA miR-126 in adults using conditional ko mice (Kuhnert et al, Development 2008). We have extensive experience using adenoviral expression of soluble receptor ectodomains to inhibit diverse angiogenic pathways including VEGF and PDGFRb. Loss-of-function phenotypes would simulate the effects of pharmacologic inhibition of novel targets for anti-angiogenic therapy of cancer and ocular disorders.

Oncogene discovery.
We have successfully established primary organoid cultures of diverse tissues including intestine (Ootani et al, Nat Med 2009). These comprise an robust in vitro system for the functional validation of putative oncogenic loci which are identified in whole-genome cancer surveys. We collaborate extensively with systems biologists to interrogate large-scale cancer genomics datasets.

Endothelial cell regulation of physiology,
How do endothelial cells regulate physiology of their host organs? The liver hepatocyte appears particularly responsive to its host endothelial cells. We are investigating effects of VEGF inhibition on hepatocyte functions in terms of Epo synthesis, erythropoiesis (Tam et al, Nat Med 2006) and metabolic pathways. We are also correlating these changes with anti-tumor response and survival in cancer patients receiving VEGF inhibitors, as potential surrogate biomarkers of efficacy.

Intestinal stem/progenitor biology.
The complete regeneration of the epithelial lining of the intestine every 5-7 days renders the intestine a model system for studying stem cell behaviors. We are investigating the regulation of the intestinal stem cell (ISC) compartment by extracellular signals such as Wnts, using adenoviral and conditional knockout approaches, and have found that Bmi1+ ISC are strongly injury-inducible versus the homeostatic function of Lgr5+ ISC (c.f. Yan et al, PNAS 2012, Barry et al, Nature 2013). Further, we have derived robust organoid methods for prolonged culture of and ex vivo expansion of primary intestinal tissue, with preservation of ISCs and recapitulation of the Wnt- and Notch-dependent ISC niche, even allowing peristalsis (Ootani et al, Nat Med 2009).