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Jonathan Slack, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development E-mail: slack017@umn.edu

Research Interests:

Transdifferentiation

Different cell types can sometimes be interconverted by introduction of genes for the appropriate transcription factors.  We are interested in possible therapeutic applications of this technique. Current projects are being conducted both in vitro and in vivo , using adenovirus to introduce the genes.

• Reprogramming of hepatocytes to pancreatic beta cells
• Reprogramming of biliary epithelium to pancreatic beta cells
• Cell lineage of ectopic endocrine cells
• Molecular mechanisms of Barrett's oesophagus 

Regeneration

Some animals are able to regenerate missing parts.  Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of this could have important implications for human health.  We are presently studying the mechanisms of regeneration of the nervous system and the muscle in the Xenopus tadpole tail.

Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

Slack, J.M.W. (2007). Transdifferentiation and metaplasia : from pure
biology to the clinic. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 8, 369-378

Slack, J. M.W. (2007). The spark of life: electricity and regeneration.
Science STKE, pe54

Slack, J.M.W. (2007). Molecular biology of the cell. Chapter 5, pp 53-66 in
Principles of Tissue Engineering, ed. Lanza, R., Langer, R. and Vacanti,
J.P. San Diego: Academic Press.

Slack, J.M.W. (2008). Fate Maps (Embryology). McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of
Science & Technology, 10th edition.

Slack, J.M.W., Lin, G and Chen, Y. (2008). The Xenopus tadpole, a new model
for regeneration research. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 65, 54-63.

Lin, G. and Slack, J.M.W. (2008). Requirement for Wnt and FGF signaling in
Xenopus tadpole tail regeneration. Dev. Biol. 316, 323-335.

Eberhard, D., Tosh, D., and Slack J.M.W. (2008). Origin of pancreatic
endocrine cells from biliary duct epithelium. Cellular and Molecular Life
Sciences 65, 3467 – 3480.

Slack, J.M.W. (2008). Origin of stem cells in organogenesis. Science 322,
1498-1501.

Slack, J.M.W. (2009). Metaplasia and somatic cell reprogramming. J.Pathol.
217, 161–168.