Amander Clark
email: clarka@ucla.edu
phone: 310-794-4201
office: 457 BSRB
homepage: http://www.mcdb.ucla.edu/Research/Clark
Research Interests
Our lab uses embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to understand the molecular events required for cell lineage differentiation and cancer progression. ESCs have the remarkable features of both self-renewal together with pluripotency. Therefore, by harnessing the power of these two properties, our lab is capable of generating numerous cell types derived from all embryonic lineages for molecular analysis. Our lab is specifically interested in analysis of the germ cell lineage. Germ cells have the critical role of ensuring that our genes are passed correctly from one generation to the next. Abnormal development of the germ cell lineage can result in infertility, germ cell tumor formation, diseases such as premature ovarian failure, or congenital abnormalities and birth defects. We use human ESCs together with systemic mouse modeling to understand the molecular events critical for normal human germ cell differentiation and function, and to explore key genetic pathways associated with germ cell tumor development.
Selected Publications
Karumbayaram S, Novitch BG, Patterson M, Umbach JA, Richter L, Lindgren A, Conway AE, Clark AT, Goldman SA, Plath K, Wiedau-Pazos M, Kornblum HI, Lowry WE.. 2009. Directed differentiation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells generates active motor neurons Stem Cells 27: 806-811 .
Wu H, Kim KJ, Mehta K, Paxia S, Sundstrom A, Anantharaman T, Kuraishy AI, Doan T, Ghosh J, Pyle AD, Clark A, Lowry W, Fan G, Baxter T, Mishra B, Sun Y, Teitell MA. 2009. Copy number variant analysis of human embryonic stem cells Stem Cells 26: 1484-1489 .
Park TS, Galic Z, Conway AE, Lindgren A, van Handel BJ, Magnusson M, Richter L, Teitell MA, Mikkola HK, Lowry WE, Plath K, Clark AT.. 2009. Derivation of primordial germ cells from human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells is significantly improved by coculture with human fetal gonadal cells Stem Cells 27: 783-795 .
Chin, MH., Mason, MJ., Xie, W., Volinia, S., Singer, M., Peterson, C., Ambartsumyan, G., Aimiuwu, O., Richter, L., Zhang, J., Khvorostov, I., Ott, V., Grunstein, M., Lavon, N., Benvenisty, N., Croce, CM., Clark, AT., Baxter, T., Pyle, AD., Teitell, MA., Pelegrini, M., Plath, K., Lowry, WE. 2009. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Embryonic Stem Cells Are Distinguished by Gene Expression Signatures Cell Stem Cell 5: 111-123 .
Kim, Y., Deshpande, A., Dai, Y., Kim, JJ., Lindgren, A., Conway, A., Clark, AT., Wong, DT.. 2009. Cell Stem Cell Epub: - .
Lowry WE, Richter L, Yachechko R, Pyle AD, Tchieu J, Sridharan R, Clark AT, Plath K.. 2008. Generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells from dermal fibroblasts Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105: 2883-2888 .
Ambartsumyan G, Clark AT.. 2008. Aneuploidy and early human embryo development Hum Mol. Genet 17: R10-R15 .
Bostick, M., Kim, J.K., Esteve, P.O, Clark, A.T., Pradham, S. and Jacobsen, S.E.. 2007. UHRFI plays a role in maintaining DNA methylation in mammalian cells Science : - .
Clark, A.T.. 2007. The stem cell identity of testicular cancer Stem Cell Rev, 3: 49-59 .
Clark, AT. 2006. Establishment and Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Germ Cells Gamete Biology: Emerging Frontiers in Fertility an Contraceptive Development : 77-86 .