Sandra Pinho
Email Address: spinho@uic.eduCollege: Medicine Department: Pharmacology
Title: Assistant Professor
Office: 4051
Webpage: https://pinholab.com
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: No
Research Interest:
My laboratory is interested in understanding how healthy hematopoietic and leukemic stem cells are regulated. In homeostasis, blood or hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are located within the bone marrow where they are regulated by cells and factors that constitute the bone marrow microenvironment, or niche. With age, HSCs suffer a decline in their regenerative capacity leading to impaired immune responses and contributing to the development of hematopoietic malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), fueled by resilient cancer stem cells. Patient outcomes in AML remain poor, especially in older patients who represent most affected individuals. Hence, novel targeted therapies are urgently needed. Since healthy HSCs are tightly linked with their microenvironment for normal function, HSC aging and malignancy may be related to deterioration of the niche. My current research focus is on the regulation of the stem cell microenvironment in aging and in malignancies of the hematopoietic system. Our long-term goal is to design novel rejuvenation technologies for aged HSCs and develop strategies that will improve cancer therapy. Minimum time commitment in hours per week: Qualifications of a Student:
Minimum GPA: 3.5 Priorities will be given to Honors College/GPPA students
NOTE: This researcher is currently not accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research Experience program.
