Patterning mesoderm and blood development from human pluripotent stem cells

Functional tissue emerges from complex spatial-temporal interactions between heterogeneous cell populations. In this presentation I will review our efforts to establish an integrated understanding of the effects of cell type heterogeneity, spatial organization and multi-scale regulatory network engagement on defined and measurable stem cell fate transitions. Specific examples from pluripotent stem cell fate control will be highlighted and new data on modeling human pluripotent stem cell development into definitive blood cells by mimicking the hemogenic niche will be presented.