My laboratory is interested in applying a combination of molecular, genetic, genomic, developmental, and cell biological approaches to understand how adult stem cells are regulated in vivo using Drosophila and mice as model systems. An adult stem cell is defined as a cell residing in an adult tissue that can self-renew and generate differentiated cells that replace dying or damaged cells throughout an organism’s lifetime. The mechanisms governing stem cell regulation are also of great interest to understanding tissue regeneration and aging, and developing treatments for degenerative diseases and cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms governing their regulation in vivo remain largely unknown. My laboratory is currently using Drosophila ovarian germline stem cells and mouse retinal stem cells to study the molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell regulation in vivo.