Research

Pigment cells have long been used to study gene-to-phenotype relationships. Since their discovery, numerous pigment cell types have been identified across different species, each sharing common features while displaying distinct functions and gene expression profiles. Melanocytes, the pigment cell type in humans, are famous for their roles in governing skin tone and the tanning response. However, not all melanocytes are pigmented or exposed to ultraviolet radiation. In vertebrates, pigment cells are an evolutionarily ancient cell-type that are derived from the neural crest at all axial levels and present in other organs besides the skin, such as the eyes, mucosa, brain, heart, and ears. The ubiquity of melanocytes throughout the human body and their involvement in medical conditions such as vitiligo, melanoma, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, congenital hearing loss, and atrial fibrillation indicates this cell type, pigmented or not, is essential for multi-organ homeostasis.
By understanding the cellular basis of melanocyte heterogeneity and uncovering the molecular/biochemical mechanisms that diversify melanocyte function, we aim to understand the role of intra-cell-type heterogeneity in maintaining the health of numerous organs while identifying novel etiological and pathological mechanisms contributing to the diverse clinical presentations within melanocyte-associated diseases.

Defining novel melanocyte subtypes and subtype-specific molecular programs

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Spatiotemporal mechanisms of melanocyte subtype function 

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Cell-of-origin based classification and actionable subtyping of diseases