Allison Bardin

Introduction

Understanding the dual capacity of self-renewal and differentiation is an important aim of regenerative medicine and also has implications for cancer biology. The aim of work in our group is to identify mechanisms important for these processes and ultimately to understand how they function collectively to promote homeostasis of a tissue.

Projects

We are using a simplified model system, the Drosophila intestine, which contains around 1000 multipotent intestinal stem cells. The intestinal stem cells produce the two differentiated cell types required for organ function: the enterocytes and enteroendocrine cells. The differentiated cells are replaced approximately once a week in healthy animals but can be stimulated to rapidly regenerate the intestine upon infection by pathogenic bacteria or treatment with damaging agents). Thus, this is an excellent and simple model for mammalian tissues such as the intestine, lung or skin that need to regenerate in response to environmental stimuli. We are using this model system to address two important questions:
1. What chromatin changes accompany and regulate stem cell lineage differentiation?
2. How does DNA damage and somatic mutation impact stem cells and tissues during aging?

Impact

Our work has implications for understanding how adult tissues function and how they become deregulated during aging and cancer.