01hPSC differentiation
Build blood from first principles
Replay early human development in a dish, then perturb the signals that decide blood-cell identity.↗
Human blood development
Blood begins
as a spectrum
of decisions.
We trace the colorful logic of human blood and immune development—then use it to build better cell-based therapies.
Stem cellsHSC developmentImmune cellsTranslation
Our research spectrum
One origin.
Many pathways.
Each research program receives its own color, making a complex developmental story easier to scan without making the site feel childish or chaotic.
0102HSC ontogeny
Capture the HSC transition
Resolve the route from mesoderm through hemogenic endothelium to blood-forming competence.↗
03Immune engineering
Translate embryonic programs
Use developmental logic to engineer renewable immune cells for modeling and future therapies.↗
Focused mentorship
Principal investigator
Christopher M.
Sturgeon, PhD
Chris trained with Michel Roberge at the University of British Columbia and Gordon Keller in Toronto before founding the lab in 2014. His mentorship centers on scientific independence, clear communication, and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries.
Demanding about the science.
Generous with the scientist.
Lab notes & recognition
News from
the lab.
Awards, funding, interviews, and coverage of our work in developmental hematopoiesis.
Funding
Mount Sinai
Sturgeon Lab receives $8.2M NIH award to investigate the origins of blood-forming stem cells
↗Award
Aspen Institute Italia
Transatlantic stem cell collaboration wins the 2026 Aspen Institute Italia Award
↗Interview
Rai Cultura
Christopher Sturgeon discusses the challenges—and promise—of stem cell research
↗In the press
La Stampa
How laboratory-generated blood stem cells could shape future leukemia treatments
↗Selected work
Recent publications.
2025
Trends in Cell Biology
↗2024Bloodhounds chasing the origin of blood cells
Nature Cell Biology
↗2023CD32 captures committed haemogenic endothelial cells during human embryonic development
Nature Cell Biology
↗2022Haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell heterogeneity is inherited from the embryonic endothelium
Nature Cell Biology
↗Identification of a retinoic acid-dependent haemogenic endothelial progenitor from human pluripotent stem cells
Come build with us
Bring your questions.
Find your direction.
We welcome scientists who are curious about development, comfortable with collaboration, and ready to take ownership of hard problems.