Kostandin Pajcini

Associate Professor

College of Medicine at Chicago - Basic Sciences
Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine

Research Interests

Research in my laboratory focuses on the role of cell signaling in hematopoietic development and disorders. We study the Notch signaling pathway and its role in regulating the development and cell fate decisions of fetal hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in mouse models. The overall goal is to understand the molecular and signaling cues that allow for the great regenerative potential of fetal HSCs and to develop biomedical approaches that will allow adult bone-marrow HSCs to self-renew and expand with the same potency as fetal HSCs.
The overall goal of this research is to "turn back the clock" on adult blood cells and develop laboratory methods that will help rejuvenate and replenish the blood supply for clinical applications and blood transfusion in patients.
My lab is well established, and provides a great opportunity for an undergraduate student to learn directly from a good mix of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and technicians. The training can lay the foundation of future scientific careers.

The URE website is only for undergraduate student researchers.