Research
Russ Lab
P.I. Name: Holger Russ
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida
Joined: August 2023
Project began: May 2024
Research Focus: Critically evaluate Type 1 Diabetes pathology and cures using human pluripotent stem cell differentiation. Current projects include exploring optimization of stem cell derived beta cells, and stem cell derived thymic organoids.
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Research Project
Research Title: Genome Engineering of Pluripotent Stem Cells to Illuminate Human T Cell Education and Pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes
Research Focus: We seek to generate functional knock out of two genes, Insulin (INS) and β2 microglobulin (B2M). We expect that INS-KO stem cell derived thymic organoids fail to remove INS autoreactive T cells, thus demonstrating impaired negative selection. As B2M is a common component of all HLA class I molecules required for translocation to the membrane, we expect B2M KO sTOs fail to support the development of cytotoxic CD8 T cells. In sum, our ongoing investigations will provide detailed insights into T cell development and thymic function in the human context.
Project Responsibilities: Planning and development of CRISPR/Cas9 system used for gene knockout, nucleofection of pluripotent stem cells, daily maintenance and media changes of cells in culture, quality control and testing for results, including flow cytometry, immunofluorescence staining, and qPCR.