Boris Greber, PhD
E-Mail: boris.greber (at) mpi-muenster.mpg.de
Tel.: 0251 83 46906
Fax: 0251 83 46900
Funded by the Chemical Genomic Centre of the Max Planck Society
Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are cells derived from pre-implantation embryos. They are capable of self-renewal, meaning that they can be indefinitely cultured and expanded. Hence, once established, individual hES cell lines can be used for research in many laboratories. Like the cells in the embryo, hES cells can - in principle - also differentiate into all cell types of the human body (pluripotency). We want to better understand how hES cells - and induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells - take decisions: to either self-renew or to differentiate along defined routes. The resulting knowledge may subsequently be utilized for applied purposes such as modeling of human diseases as well as for drug testing in vitro.
