Research Program: Transplant Biology and Therapy
Professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation
Director of the Stem Cell Institute
Anderson Chair in Stem Cell Biology
Tulloch Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Genetics and Genomics
McKnight Presidential Chair in Stem Cell Biology

verfa001@umn.edu
612-625-0602 - office

Dr. Verfaillie received her M.D. at the University of Leuven, Belgium.

Research Interests

The major research interest of my lab is stem cell biology. This includes studies pertaining to the regulation of proliferation, differentiation, and lineage commitment of normal hematopoietic stem cells and hematopoietic stem cells from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia by cytokines and components of the extracellular matrix; as well as genetic characterization of hematopoietic stem cells and their progenitors.

In addition, over the last four years we have studied plasticity of stem cells, via purification, expansion and characterization of differentiation of multipotential post-natal stem cells from marrow, brain and muscle to mesodermal, ectodermal and endodermal lineages; analysis of the molecular signals required for commitment to differentiated multipotent stem cell types by functional genomics; and evaluation of their therapeutic potential in congenital disorders (MPS, Gaucher's, hemophilia) or for the treatment of cartilage, muscular, vascular, myocardial diseases, neurodegenerative and ischemic disorders disease, and liver or pancreas disorders.

Selected Publications

Lewis ID, Du J, Almeida-Porada J, Zanjani ED, Verfaillie CM (2001). Umbilical cord blood cells capable of engrafting in primary, secondary, and tertiary xenogeneic hosts are preserved after ex vivo culture in a noncontact system. Blood 97:3441-3449.

Zhao RCH, Jiang Y, Verfaillie CM (2001). A model of human p210/ABL mediated CML by transducing primary normal human CD34+ cells with a BCR/ABL containing retroviral vector. Blood 97:2406-2412.

Reyes M, Lenvik T, Lund T, Aguiar D, Koodie L, Verfaillie CM (2001). Purification and ex vivo expansion of post-natal human marrow mesodermal progenitor cells. Blood 98, 2615-75.

Reyes M, Dudek A, B. Jahagirdar, Koodie L, Verfaillie CM (2002) Origin of endothelial progenitors in human post-natal bone marrow. J Clin Invest. 109:337-346.

Liu H, Verfaillie CM (2002). Myeloid-lymphoid initiating cells (ML-IC) are highly enriched in the Rhodamin-c-Kit+CD33-CD38- fraction of umbilical cord CD34+ cells. Exp Hematol. 30:582-589.