The overall aim of the research in my laboratory is to understand the contributions of stem cells to the normal and abnormal growth of the skin, by determining their role in maintaining epithelial homeostasis, as well as their role in disease states such as skin cancer. Our ability to isolate epithelial stem cells in the skin and propagate these cells in cell culture systems gives us an outstanding platform to investigate their role in skin biology, tissue regeneration and the genesis of cancer stem cells.
Yan X, Owens DM. The skin: a home to multiple classes of epithelial progenitor cells. Stem Cell Rev. 2008 Summer;4(2):113-8. Review.
Jensen UB, Yan X, Triel C, Woo SH, Christensen R, Owens DM. A distinct population of clonogenic and multipotent murine follicular keratinocytes residing in the upper isthmus. J Cell Sci. 2008 Mar 1;121(Pt 5):609-17.
Owens DM, Watt FM. Contribution of stem cells and differentiated cells to epidermal tumours. Nat Rev Cancer. 2003 Jun;3(6):444-51. Review.