The various functions of stem cells during development, regeneration and in homeostasis are determined by their trajectory towards differentiation, self-renewal, or quiescence, and disrupting these paths can lead to a variety of diseases. Increasing evidence shows that extrinsic factors like the nutrient environment regulate SC functions. An illustrative example is Vitamin C (VitC), an essential component of most stem cell media formulations. VitC maintains the naïve pluripotent state of mouse embryonic stem cells and is a well-established enhancer of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) induction from somatic cells. VitC also limits hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and profoundly suppresses leukemogenesis, suggesting that potential nutrition-based interventions may soon complement anti-cancer therapies.

The overarching goal of our work is to understand how diet-derived nutrients change metabolism to regulate stem cell fate. We explore how nutrients that vary with diet regulate stem cells and cell fate decisions during differentiation and cellular reprogramming. Our long-term goal is to define dietary alterations that enable more accurate models of differentiation in the culture dish, to enhance rejuvenation processes with nutrients, and to lead to new treatments of pregnancy complications and diseases.

Current directions in the lab:

• Exploring the effects of nutrients and vitamins on pluripotent stem cells, reprogramming and differentiation models
• Exploring the effect of nutrients on vivo development
• Exploring differences between females and males with respect to nutrient effects
• Mechanistically defining the effect of nutrients