“Junk DNA” drives embryonic development

“Junk DNA” drives embryonic development

Dr. Mark Mercola and his team discovered that microRNAs play an important roll in embryonic development.

Recycling fat to live longer?

Recycling fat to live longer?

Dr. Malene Hansen and her lab are unraveling how the interplay between two cellular processes—autophagy and lipid metabolism—influences lifespan in C. elegans worms.

Sanford-Burnham research projects selected to go to space

Sanford-Burnham research projects selected to go to space

Space Florida to send two experiments from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute to the International Space Station.

Studying development and aging

The goal of this program is to understand how a functioning organ is formed and maintained in the organism, and how to correct or ameliorate a genetically or environmentally induced defect. To achieve this goal, our program's scientists are investigating the cellular and molecular interactions—from embryo to adult—that control the assembly and physiological operation of organs to ensure an organism’s health.

Research - Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell - Development and Aging: About

Researchers in the Development and Aging Program are taking several approaches to understand the molecular basis of embryological development, from a fertilized egg to the establishment of the embryonic axis, to the differentiation and morphogenesis of individual tissues, their homeostasis under different metabolic and environmental conditions, and finally to the process of aging. Many of our projects use model systems, such as C. elegans (worms), Drosophila (fruit flies), and mice, to investigate how the activities of signaling molecules and transcription factors are integrated to control developmental processes.

How our research helps improve health

Understanding fundamental principles in biology during development, organ function, and aging constitutes the basis of all medical advances and represents the backbone of any therapeutic intervention. Current studies are focused on understanding the mechanisms that control the development and physiology of the brain, heart, skeleton, and pancreas. The program's research analyzes invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, as well as primary human tissue, with projects focused on understanding congenital heart disease and cardiac malfunction, skeletal mineralization disorders, cellular complexity in the brain, and pancreatic islet regeneration and regulation of insulin-producing beta-cells in normal versus diabetic states.

Research - Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell - Development and Aging: How Our Research Helps

Recent Developments

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California’s stem cell agency boosts heart disease research at Sanford-Burnham

Sanford-Burnham's Dr. Huei-Sheng Vincent Chen will receive a $1.58 million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Basic Biology IV award to develop personalized models of inherited heart conditions using stem cells derived from patients’ own skin cells.  Read More...

Recent Publications

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Research - Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell - Development and Aging: Recent Publications
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