In the developing face, how do stem cells know whether to become cartilage, bones or teeth? To begin to answer this question, scientists from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump tested the role of a key family of genes, called “Forkhead-domain transcription factors,” or Fox. Their findings appear in the journal Development. To read more, visit stemcell.keck.usc.edu/a-fox-code-for-the-face.

In this 360 video tour of USC’s stem cell research center, Dr. Gage Crump shows you the basement, which houses the zebrafish that he uses to study craniofacial birth defects, bone injuries and arthritis.

If you lose a limb, it’s lost for life. If you damage a kidney, you won’t grow a new one. And if you have a heart attack, the scars are there to stay. But regenerative medicine is poised to change all of this. Building new tissue is within sight, and USC scientists are among the Read More…

Scientists in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump have revealed how key genes guide the development of the jaw in zebrafish. These findings may offer clues for understanding craniofacial anomalies in human patients, who sometimes carry a mutation in equivalent genes. In the study published in Developmental Cell, first author Lindsey Barske and Read More…

During his career as a developmental biologist, Hearst Fellow Peter Fabian has studied many kinds of fish—from bichir and sturgeon, to gar and medaka. However, his favorite is the zebrafish, the current focus of his postdoctoral training in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump. “I like zebrafish most,” said Fabian. “It’s a very Read More…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recognized USC scientist Gage Crump with an Award for Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research—an eight-year, $8 million grant to support the development of stem cell-based treatments for patients with craniofacial diseases. “Perhaps the best part of this award is that it funds the investigator, rather than a specific project,” said Read More…