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LAIRD LAB

Laboratory of Germline Development, Fitness and Aging

We are interested in heterogeneity, selection, and interactions with the environment at the cellular level. Our crucible is the developing germline, the precursors of the egg and sperm. We use quantitative imaging and genomic approaches in mouse models, naked mole rats, and human stem cells. Our work is motivated by solving infertility, reproductive aging, and understanding the effects of prenatal exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and psychosocial stressors.

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LAB NEWS

PUBLICATIONS

Our recent publications. See the rest on our site or pubmed

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2023

Deniz Gökbuget, Kayla Lenshoek, Ryan M. Boileau, Jonathan Bayerl, Hector Huang, Arun P. Wiita, Diana J. Laird & Robert Blelloch, Transcriptional repression upon S phase entry protects genome integrity in pluripotent cells. Nat Struct Mol Biol 30, 1561–1570 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-023-01092-7

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Nature News and Views 2023

Jonathan Bayerl & Diana J. Laird, Eggs made from male mouse stem cells using error-prone culture. 2023

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Nature Cell Biology 2020

Nguyen DH, Soygur B, Peng SP, Malki S, Hu G, Laird DJ. Apoptosis in the fetal testis eliminates developmentally defective germ cell clones. Nat Cell Biol. 2020;22(12):1423-1435. doi:10.1038/s41556-020-00603-8

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Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 2021

Soygur B, Laird DJ. Ovary Development: Insights From a Three-Dimensional Imaging Revolution. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jul 26;9:698315. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.698315. PMID: 34381780; PMCID: PMC8351467.

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Science Advances 2021

Soygur, B., Jaszczak, R. G., Fries, A., Nguyen, D. H., Malki, S., Hu, G., et al. (2021). Intercellular bridges coordinate the transition from pluripotency to meiosis in mouse fetal oocytes. Sci. Adv. 7:eabc6747. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abc6747

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Development 2019

Reznik B, Cincotta SA, Jaszczak RG, Mateo LJ, Shen J, Cao M, Baskin L, Ye P, An W, Laird DJ. Heterogeneity of transposon expression and activation of the repressive network in human fetal germ cells. Development. 2019 Feb 1;146(12). pii: dev171157. doi: 10.1242/dev.171157.

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Development 2016

Insights from imaging the implanting embryo and the uterine environment in three dimensions. Arora R, Fries A, Oelerich K, Marchuk K, Sabeur K, Giudice LC, Laird DJ. Development. 2016 Dec 15;143(24):4749-4754.

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J. Cell Biology, 2016

Cantú AV, Altshuler-Keylin S, Laird DJ. Discrete somatic niches coordinate proliferation and migration of primordial germ cells via Wnt signaling. J Cell Biol. 2016 Jul 18;214(2):215-29.PMID: 27402951

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J. Cell Science, 2016

Arora R, Abby E, Ross AD, Cantu AV, Kissner MD, Castro V, Ho HY, Livera G, Laird DJ. Meiotic onset is reliant on spatial distribution but independent of germ cell number in the mouse ovary. J Cell Sci. 2016 Jul 1;129(13):2493-9. PMID:27199373

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Stem Cells, 2016

A miR-372/let-7 Axis Regulates Human Germ Versus Somatic Cell Fates. Tran ND, Kissner M, Subramanyam D, Parchem RJ, Laird DJ*, Blelloch RH*. Stem Cells. 2016 Jul;34(7):1985-91. PMID:27066911. *co-corresponding authors

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Developmental Biology, 2015

Faire M, Skillern A, Arora R, Nguyen DH, Wang J, Chamberlain C, German MS, Fung JC, Laird DJ. Follicle dynamics and global organization in the intact mouse ovary. Dev Biol. 2015 Jul 1;403(1):69-79. PMID:25889274

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Cell, 2008

Laird DJ, von Andrian UH, Wagers AJ. Stem cell trafficking in tissue development, growth and disease. Cell 2008 132, 612-630. PMID: 18295579

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Cell, 2005

Laird DJ, De Tomaso AW, Weissman IL. Stem cells are units of natural selection in a colonial ascidian. Cell. 2005 123 (7):1351-60. Erratum in: Cell. 2006 Feb 10;124(3):647-8. PMID:16377573.

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FUNDING

Thanks to these agencies and foundations, we are able to carry out our work.

Interested in making a tax-deductable donation? Federal funding does not cover all of our research needs, or the cost of living in San Francisco. An unrestricted gift to the UCSF Foundation for the Laboratory of Diana Laird would help train young scientists and advance our research.

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub
Hellman fellows fund
RAP
NIH Directors New Innovator Award
National Institute of Enviromental Health Sciences
NIGMS
WM Keck
Germline Exposures
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