Proliferation and Fate in Stem Cells and Brain Tumors

Rebecca Ihrie
Assistant Professor
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
761B Preston Research Building
2220 Pierce Avenue
615-936-2951 (office)
rebecca.ihrie@vanderbilt.edu

We are interested in how extracellular signals are integrated within stem cells to direct self-renewal, proliferation, and the generation of committed progeny.  Fast-dividing progenitor cells share many molecular features with cancer cells, and the pathways regulating neural stem cells are frequently disrupted or altered in brain tumors.  The laboratory focuses on a unique stem cell niche in the brain: the subventricular zone (SVZ). We use both in vitro and in vivo methods to perturb specific signaling pathways in neural progenitors and brain tumor cells and measure alterations in stem cell potential, proliferation, and differentiation. Understanding how the long-lived neural stem cells in this region persist throughout life will provide significant insight into the properties of progenitor-like cells in brain tumors.

For more information, please visit the lab website.