Hematopoiesis & Immunity

Our laboratory is interested in the development of the blood-forming, or hematopoietic, system in the vertebrate embryo. Most of our studies are aimed at understanding how the hematolymphoid system arises in the zebrafish embryo from the first hematopoietic stem cells. We are utilizing the many advantages that the zebrafish system offers to study the ontogeny of hematopoiesis and immunity. These include the easy visualization of blood cells in the translucent embryo and the ability to dissect genetically the pathways important for blood cell specification, maintenance and function.