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Diana Laird, PhD
Diana Laird, PhD

Associate Professor
[email protected]
Lab Website

Contact Information
Mailing Address:

513 Parnassus Ave, Box 0667
Dolby Regenerative Medicine Bldg, Pod B
Rm 1015
San Francisco, CA 94143

Academic Phone: 415/476-5471
Academic Fax: 415/502-7866
Research/Clinical Interests

The goal of our research is to identify molecular mechanisms that regulate the development of primordial germ cells (PGCs). PGCs are transient stem cells in the embryo that give rise to either male or female gametes. Since their origin is distinct from that of the gonad, PGCs must traverse the growing embryo to reach the nascent ovaries or testes, where differentiation as eggs or sperm ensues. Successful reproduction of the adult depends upon proper development of PGCs: their establishment, migration, and proliferation. Throughout these events, PGCs must maintain the potential to produce an entirely new organism in a few subsequent cell divisions; failures in such maintenance can result in loss of fertility, whereas the failure to restrict this potential to PGCs can result in germ cell tumors. Enhancing our now rudimentary molecular understanding of PGC development may provide insights into infertility and cancer as well as manipulating and maintaining pluripotent stem cells in vitro.

We are using the emerging strength of genetics in the mouse to study the machinery of self-renewal, migration, and regulation of PGCs in vivo. In order to discover new genes involved in PGC development, we have screened randomly mutagenized mouse embryos and isolated eight recessive mutants with PGC defects. By identifying the affected gene and characterizing the embryonic and adult consequences of its mutation, we will attain a broader understanding of the genetic pathways that regulate PGC development. In tandem, we are creating new strains of transgenic mice that will facilitate the characterization of our collection of PGC mutants as well as providing tools for the study of normal and diseased PGCs. Other interests include fertility preservation for cancer patients.

Education/Training
Year Institution & Location Degree Field of Study
1995 Harvard University, Massachusetts B.A. Physics
2003 Stanford University, California Ph.D. Immunology/Stem Cells
2007 Sloan Kettering, New York Postdoc Developmental Biology
Achievements & Recognition
Year Major Honors
1991 Tektronix Foundation Scholarship
1997-00 NSF Predoctoral Fellowship in Biology
2002 Keystone Symposium Scholarship
2004-07 Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fellowship
Selected Publications

D.J. Laird and I.L. Weissman 2004. Continuous development precludes radioprotection in a colonial ascidian. Dev. Comp. Immunology 28 (3) 201-209.

D.J. Laird and I.L. Weissman 2004. Telomerase maintained in self-renewing tissues during serial regeneration in the Urochordate Botryllus schlosseri. Developmental Biology 273 (2): 185-94.

D.J. Laird, W. Chang, I.L. Weissman, R. J. Lauzon 2005. Identification of a novel gene involved in asexual organogenesis in a budding ascidian. Developmental Dynamics 234 (4):997-1005

D.J. Laird, A.W. De Tomaso, I.L. Weissman 2005. Stem cells are units of natural selection in a colonial ascidian. Cell 123 (7):1351-60.

D.J. Laird, U.H. von Andrian, and A.W. Wagers 2008. Stem cell trafficking in tissue development, growth and disease. Cell 132, 612-630