Research Interest:
I have 22 years experience in the manipulation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and the generation and analysis of genetically engineered mouse models. More recently, we have developed an efficient procedure for the cryopreservation and retrieval of viable cell types from lung tissue of stranded (deceased) aquatic mammals. Using these cryopreserved samples, we have also generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from lung fibroblasts through the activation of 4 stem cell factors. Technical challenges associated with the marine source material aguably support our proposal for the seamless application of this novel procedure for the cryopreservation of viable human patient lung tissues in next-generation biobanking. These cells are being used to bioengineer reconstructed lungs and thereby study the basic biology behind stem/differentiated cell adaptation to oxidative stress. Although oxidative stress response has been extensively studied in embryonic stem cell (ESC) models of terrestrial mammals, parallels have not been investigated in marine mammals. To fill this gap, I propose studies comparing oxidative stress between PSW iPSCs and mouse ESCs at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) that use novel technologies demonstrate that mouse ESC protein expression significantly differs in hypoxic vs. normoxic conditions, setting a precedent for further investigation and human therapies.