“Seeing is believing: understanding stem cell decisions in the skin through live imaging”

In this talk Dr. Cockburn will give an overview of how we are using intravital imaging to answer fundamental questions about epidermal stem cell biology. In particular, she will highlight recent progress in defining how both self-renewal and differentiation behaviors are controlled and carried out during healthy turnover of the adult skin.

Dr. Katie Cockburn is a NYSCF Druckenmiller Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Genetics at Yale University. She completed her PhD training at the University of Toronto with Dr. Janet Rossant, studying early cell fate choices in the mammalian blastocyst. As a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Valentina Greco, she now combines in vivo imaging, molecular analyses and genetic strategies to understand how stem cells make the right decisions at the right times and places to fuel lifelong regeneration of the skin.