Kenneth Poss
Credentials: Cell and Regenerative Biology Department
Position title: Concepts and mechanisms of tissue regeneration
Email: kposs@morgridge.org
Address:
Morgridge Institute for Research, Room 4340
330 N Orchard Street
Madison, WI 53715
LAB WEBSITE:
FOCUS GROUPS:
Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine; Transcriptional Mechanisms
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
In the Poss Lab, the primary research goal is to understand mechanisms of vertebrate tissue regeneration. We study regeneration of cardiac muscle, spinal cord, and major appendages in zebrafish, which possess especially high regenerative capacity. We have established several tools to interrogate regeneration and morphogenesis in zebrafish, including inducible, Cre-based single and multicolor lineage tracing, cell-specific ablation injury models, transgenic reporter and loss of function strains, live imaging platforms, and genetic screening. We have extended this work into mammalian models with collaborators and within my own group. Our long-term goal is to delineate how and why tissue regeneration happens, and to use this information to improve the poor regenerative capacity of human tissues like the heart and spinal cord.