Welcome to the Downing Lab at UCI!
Our lab explores new and innovative approaches to cell and tissue engineering. We are particularly interested in understanding how the genome is regulated through non-sequence-based changes to DNA (epigenetics) during healthy tissue development and disease progression. The human genome contains basic instructions required for multicellular life. However, DNA sequence alone tells only part of the story. While all cells within our body have the same genetic makeup, each cell expresses this genetic information differently, which contributes to variations in cellular identity and specific tissue functions. This differential expression is accomplished through epigenetic regulation of genes. Our goal is to develop molecular tools and biomaterials to synthetically regulate the epigenome for better control over cell fate and behavior. Our biomedical interests include heart regeneration, tissue longevity and robustness, the human-material interface, and cancer.
Our lab is located in the Core Lab on the 6th floor of ISEB and is affiliated with the UCI Department of Biomedical Engineering, UCI Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Cardiovascular Innovation and Research Center (CIRC), and NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research (CMCF).