Adjunct Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame
richdahl@iupui.edu

Regulation of Gene Expression in Blood Development

Blood is composed of several different cell types, which all develop from a common precursor, the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). The HSC differentiates into progenitor cells, which will give rise to mature red and white (immune) cells. In leukemias the differentiation of stem and/or progenitors cells is blocked and there is an accumulation of these immature non-functional cells in the blood. Richard Dahl an assistant professor in immunology and microbiology investigates how genes are turned on and off during the development of blood cells and how this normal process becomes disrupted in leukemia cells. To pursue the goal of understanding how regulation of gene expression directs normal and abnormal blood development, the Dahl laboratory uses mouse models. His research has been funded by the American Cancer Society, the American Society of Hematology and the Leukemia Research Foundation.