RESEARCH

Investigator: Ethan Lai

Can we understand aging and age-associated diseases better through the lens of embryonic development? Totipotent and pluripotent stem cells are capable of indefinite regeneration, and differentiation into all somatic cell types--in short, the polar opposite of many of the terminally differentiated, inflexible cells responsible for diseases of aging. We leverage these unique cells to produce “blastoids”, three-dimensional organoids that closely resemble blastocyst-stage embryos in order to study human development at its youngest, most regeneration-capable stage. Exploring cellular and molecular mechanisms, e.g., transcriptional programming, at this early stage may reveal principles that contrast with aging and age-associated diseases and help us understand how regenerative potential is gained, maintained, and eventually lost.