Jason Pomerantz Awarded 5-year $1.7M NIH Grant to Investigate Muscle Stem Cells for Therapeutic Potential

Jason H. Pomerantz, M.D., associate professor of surgery and surgical director of the UCSF Craniofacial Center, has been awarded a 5-year $1.7M R01 grant from National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to study muscle stem cells, a subpopulation of muscle progenitors that are focal points of vulnerability in muscle dysfunction from disease, trauma or aging.

Project Narrative

"Muscle dysfunction from disease, trauma or aging, a major health care burden not adequately alleviated by available therapies, could be greatly reduced by treatments that directly address regeneration pathophysiology by capitalizing on muscle stem cells. Muscle stem cells are a subpopulation of incompletely understood muscle progenitors called satellite cells that are focal points of vulnerability in muscle aging and disease states, and in turn, promising therapeutic targets. The proposed research will result in a deeper understanding of the populations of human satellite cells that exist naturally in a broad age range of adults, a necessary foundation for developing muscle stem cell therapeutic applications."

View full abstract at NIH RePORTER

About the Pomerantz Lab

The Pomerantz Lab studies basic and translational aspects of tissue regeneration. With foundations in muscle and cancer biology, the lab investigates regenerative mechanisms including stem cell development and de-differentiation. Using model organisms such as zebrafish and mice, and extending discoveries to human cells and tissues, the lab hopes to gain fundamental insight that can be translated into clinical advances, notably solving the structural and reconstructive problems of the limbs, face, and head, whether congenital or acquired.