David Schaffer

Professor (Chemical Engineering)

Email: schaffer@berkeley.edu

Research areas: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Developmental Neuroscience

Our research program employs molecular and cellular engineering approaches to investigate biomedical problems. Our laboratory is a part of the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and the Bioengineering Graduate Group at Berkeley. We are interested in the related areas stem cell bioengineering, gene delivery systems, and molecular virology, with applications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

We will develop a research program that employs molecular and cellular engineering approaches to attempt to investigate biomedical problems. In particular, our lab is interested in the related areas of stem cell bioengineering and gene delivery, with applications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Many of our efforts are dedicated to understanding the biology and exploring the therapeutic potential of stem cells. Stem cells are immature cells that exist in various locations of our bodies. Throughout our lifetimes, these cells divide and develop into the specialized cells that perform the functions necessary for life. Therefore, if we contract a disease that kills those specialized cells, our stem cells are a potential source for replacing lost cells to counteract or even cure the disorder.

There are several challenges that must be overcome in this field. In particular, efforts to engineer tissues rely upon the ability to control stem cells. That is, the signals that control stem cell function and fate must first be discovered, and then integrated into cellular microenvironments to control stem cell expansion and lineage-specific differentiation. We have efforts in novel signal discovery, computational and experimental analysis of the biological networks that cells use to interpret and implement these signals, and on the integration of these signals into synthetic, polymeric microenvironments for optimal stem cell control in collaboration with the group of Prof. Kevin Healy (Bioengineering). This blend of stem cell biology, systems biology analysis, and biomaterials engineering has led to significant advances in the application of stem cells for tissue repair.

 

Selected Publications

Lai, K., Kaspar, B.K., Gage, F.H., and Schaffer, D.V. 2003. Sonic Hedgehog Regulates Adult Neural Progenitor Proliferation in Vitro and in Vivo Nature Neuroscience 6(1): 21-27.

Weinberger, L.S., Burnett, J.C., Toettcher, J.E., Arkin, A.P., and Schaffer, D.V. 2005. Stochastic Gene Expression in a Lentiviral Feedback Loop: HIV-1 Tat Expression Drives Phenotypic Diversity Cell 122: 169-182.

Maheshri, N., Koerber, J.T., Kaspar, B., and Schaffer, D.V. 2006. Directed Evolution of Adeno-Associated Virus Yields Enhanced Gene Delivery Vectors Nature Biotechnology.

Saha, K. and Schaffer, D.V. 2006. Signaling Dynamics in Sonic Hedgehog Tissue Patterning Development.