Project: 

Microphysiological Systems for Modeling Autoimmunity in Type 1 Diabetes

►Where are you from originally, and where did you go to school?

I grew up in the suburbs on NYC on Long Island, went to undergraduate at the University of Rochester and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. My postdoc was with Gordon Keller at Mt. Sinai in NYC.

►What is your current position?

I am Associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania.

►Why did you decide to become a researcher?

I always loved science since I was a child.

►What is the “Big Picture” of what you study?

My laboratory uses the human pluripotent stem cell model to study human development and disease. I have several areas of focus including hematopoiesis and endoderm development with an emphasis on the endocrine pancreas. For disease modeling, my laboratory focuses on genetic disorders, utilizing genome editing to generate stem cell models. We have been initially focusing on diseases where rodent models have not faithfully replicated the human disease and where a human model is critical.

►What is your favorite aspect of your research?

Getting new, and especially unexpected results. Trying then to understand the puzzle.

► What do you hope to achieve with your research?

Add to our knowledge of human development and disease.