Ayelen Lizarraga, Ph.D.

Research

In the Pott lab, I will unravel how exposure to toxins, allergens, and other environmental stimuli reprogram the long-lived stem cells that reside in different tissues. Organisms are constantly bombarded by infections, irritants, and chemicals that elicit inflammation. Mounting an appropriate response to such assaults requires activation of the proper set of genes. Recent studies suggest that the stem cells that reside in the skin and intestinal lining can “remember” sources of recurring inflammation, and that this type of learning takes place by epigenetic reprogramming of the cells’ DNA—“epigenetic” because these changes affect a gene’s activity without altering its DNA sequence. Now, using cutting-edge techniques in computational genomics, single-cell sequencing, and gene regulation, I will establish how inflammatory triggers epigenetically reprogram the genes of stem cells that give rise to blood cells, including those that form the immune system. I will identify the regulatory regions involved in epigenetic memory, establish the nature and temporal sequence of transcription factor binding involved in the process, and determine whether a similar mechanism operates in stem cells in the intestine. My work could lead to new treatments for chronic disorders in which these responses go awry, such as psoriasis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease.