Catherine E. Ovitt

Radiation treatment of head and neck cancers, and autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's syndrome, cause irreversible cellular damage in the salivary glands that usually renders them atrophic.  The long-range goal of our work is to identify and characterize salivary gland progenitor cells for use in the repopulation of damaged glands.  We have identified a distinct population of cells with the potential to differentiate into the major cell types of the salivary gland.  Current research is focused on the role of these precursor cells in both differentiation and regeneration of the salivary gland, and on developing techniques to cultivate, expand and transplant them, in order to test their ability to contribute to gland repair.