Zalc Lab

Research focus

ERC Starting Grant · 2021

Enhancing endogenous regenerative response in mammals by redeploying Cranial Neural Crest Cells pluripotency developmental programs and positional identity remodeling

Cell differentiation progresses via a continuous lineage restriction process where cell potential is reduced as the embryo develops. Pluripotent embryonic cells can beget all somatic cell types, but this capacity is rapidly restricted during the formation of the three germ layers, each giving rise to distinct cell types. Uniquely among vertebrates, a stem cell-like population arising in the embryo rostral part ? called cranial neural crest cells (CNCC) ? challenges this paradigm. CNCC not only give rise to ectoderm derivatives, such as neurons and glia, but also to cell types canonically associated with the mesoderm such as bone and cartilage of the face. During my postdoctoral training I…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.