Kimberly D. Tremblay
Research areas are in study the development of the definitive endoderm, one of the 3 primary germ layers that arise during gastrulation. The definitive endoderm produces the entire gastrointestinal tract as well as accessory digestive and respiratory organs. These organs include lung, liver, pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid and thymus. Although much is known about the genes involved in the function of these organs in the adult, relatively little is known about how these organs are induced from the definitive endoderm. An overall goal of the lab is to understand the morphological and molecular mechanisms that give rise to endodermal organs, focusing on liver and pancreas. Our work is essential in understanding the etiology of pediatric and adult diseases affecting the liver and pancreas, and informs protocols designed to create transplantable organs and tissues, such as whole livers or the insulin expressing pancreatic beta cell, from ES or iPS cells.
Current Research
Current areas of research include understanding the role key signaling pathways play in early liver and pancreas morphogenesis and molecular induction in the context of the whole embryo. A second active area of research in the laboratory understanding the role Yin-Yang 1 (YY1), a polycomb group (PCG) complex member that acts as both a transcriptional activator and repressor, plays during endoderm development and organogenesis. Finally our laboratory is very intrigued by the hypothesis that two discreet endoderm populations give rise to the early liver and ventral pancreas, we are using transcriptional profiling and genetic fate mapping to tackle this intriguing question.
Learn more at people.umass.edu/kdtrembl/LivDev/Welcome.html
Academic Background
- AB Smith College, 1992
- PhD University of Pennsylvania, 1998
- Postdoctoral training: Harvard University, 1998- 2001, 2002- 2004, 2004-2006; Fox Chase Cancer Center, 2002-2004
