01Specification
Building human HSCs
Define how stage-specific BMP, TGFβ, WNT, and NOTCH signaling guides human pluripotent stem cells toward hemogenic mesoderm, hemogenic endothelium, and blood-forming stem-cell potential.
Research atlas
Decoding the origins
of human blood.
We reconstruct developmental roadmaps from pluripotency to blood and immune-cell identity—then use those maps to regenerate blood, engineer immunity, and model disease.
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The Sturgeon Lab research framework
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Six interconnected programs
From developmental mechanism
to therapeutic impact.
02Regulatory logic
Epigenetic blueprints
Map the chromatin states, enhancers, and transcription-factor networks that establish developmental competence and control the transition from endothelial identity to blood.
03Lineage decisions
Controlling blood-cell fate
Dissect how endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition, signaling, cell-cycle state, and lineage bias shape erythroid, myeloid, lymphoid, and tissue-resident immune outcomes.
04Self-renewal & aging
HSC regulation across the lifespan
Study how hematopoietic stem cells acquire, maintain, and lose function from embryonic development through fetal life, adulthood, stress, and aging.
05Immune engineering
Immunity by design
Use developmental programs to generate and refine pluripotent stem cell-derived NK cells, macrophages, and B cells for tumor control, antiviral immunity, and tissue repair.
06Human stem-cell models
Modeling disease
Build patient-specific and genetically engineered stem-cell models of clonal hematopoiesis, bone-marrow failure, and leukemia to reveal mechanisms and test therapeutic strategies.
Translational direction