Rieger lab: Basic mechanisms
stem cell biology
Research Focus
Stem cells raise enormous hope and expectations for regenerative medicine and targeted therapy. We study the (patho)physiology of blood and colon stem cells during clonal evolution from normal to malignant. Especially early transformative events and single mutations on their transition into premalignancy are in the center of interest.
We focus our research on basic mechanisms that control normal and disturbed stem cell fate decisions (self-renewal vs. differentiation, lineage choice, quiescence vs. proliferation). These fate decisions need to be strictly balanced for normal tissue regeneration and for emergency situations, and are dysregulated in diseases (e.g. cancer). Clonal architecture, dominance and competition of stem cells in health and disease are studied. The influence of genomic alterations in stem cells influencing differentiation and regeneration, and leading to hematologic diseases are investigated. Eary molecular drivers of clonal dominance and their consequences on interorgan communication and disease progression must be understood for early prevention and treatment of hematologic and non-hematologic diseases.
We utilize and develop cutting-edge single cell technologies and bioinformatic analyses and apply them to stem cell systems from mice and humans. We unravel molecular and functional clues how these decisions are integrated in normal stem cell biology and how mutated stem cells can be targeted for innovative disease treatment.