Emily Moorefield, Ph.D.
SPIRE
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program UNC - Chapel Hill
Email: emilymoorefield@gmail.com
Education:
PhD Molecular Medicine and Translational Science 2007-2012
Wake Forest School of Medicine
BS (Biology), 2002, University of North Carolina
MS (Biotechnology), 2005, Johns Hopkins University
Advisor: Colin Bishop, PhD; Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Current Research:
Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a hereditary form of diabetes which is caused by single gene mutations which results in the disruption of insulin production. The goal of my research is to develop a stem cell-based system to examine cellular phenotypes resulting from mutations or polymorphisms associated with MODY. The underlying genetics of many forms of MODY is already known, however it is extremely difficult to obtain human beta-cells from these patients to study the mechanism by which the genetic abnormality causes a defect in insulin synthesis/secretion/response at the cellular level. Generating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from MODY patients and differentiating them in vitro to islet-like clusters makes it possible to study these mechanisms both in vitro and in vivo. Using this system we will be able to distinguish the developmental effects of the MODY gene mutations from effects on signaling and gene expression in mature islets.
Grants Awarded:
Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research
“Effects of a diabetes causing hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha defect on development and function of insulin producing cells in vitro” December 2010
Oral Presentations
North Carolina Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (NCTERM), Winston-Salem, NC Nov 2009
"Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells Demonstrate Immunosuppressive Properties”
Poster Presentations
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), San Francisco, CA June 2010
“Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells Demonstrate Immunosuppressive Properties”
Wake Forest Graduate Student Research Day, Winston-Salem, NC April 2010
“Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells Demonstrate Immunosuppressive Properties”
World Stem Cell Summit, Baltimore, MD October 2009
“Directed Differentiation of Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells into Definitive Endoderm, the First Step in Generating Beta-like Cells”
Wake Forest Graduate Student Research Day, Winston-Salem, NC April 2009
“Use of a Baculovirus to Initiate Cellular Reprogramming”
Publications:
Moorefield EC, McKee EM, Solchaga L, Walker S, Orlando G, Soker S, Furth ME, Bishop CE. Immunomodulatory effects of human amniotic fluid stem cells. Tissue Eng. In preparation.
Xu T, Rohozinski J, Zhao W, Moorefield EC, Atala A, Yoo JJ. Inkjet-mediated gene transfection into living cells combined with targeted delivery. Tissue Eng Part A. 2009 Jan;15(1):95-101.