Benjamin David Cosgrove, Cornell University

Assistant Professor Ithaca, New York bdc68@cornell.edu Office: (607) 255-7271

Expert In

Decline of stem cell function Signaling network dysregulations Systems bioengineering Tissue regeneration in aging Tissue regeneration in disease

Bio/Research

The Cosgrove Laboratory develops and implements systems bioengineering approaches to study the signaling network dysregulations underlying the decline of stem cell function and tissue regeneration in aging and disease. Our multi-disciplinary group of biomedical engineers, stem cell biologists, and systems biologists is broadly interested in understanding how stem cells use the integrative action of their regulatory circuitry to interpret and balance diverse streams of microenvironmental "information". These approaches will enable the improvement of rationally designed, quantitatively predicable stem cell-targeted regenerative medicine therapies to treat tissue aging and degeneration. We utilize mouse model systems that exhibit aging-related declines in regenerative capacity, including skeletal muscle, liver, and hematopoietic tissues. In particular, we focus on these main areas of investigation: (1) We engineer biomimetic microenvironments for evaluating stem cell-niche interactions. (2) We develop single-cell assay and modeling approaches to deconstruct how stem cell fate outcomes are dictated by diverse niche microenvironmental cues. In particular, we focus on elucidating how heterogeneous stem cell fate outcomes emerge from deterministic signaling and regulatory circuits. (3) We deconvolve the logic-based communication networks of overlapping autocrine and paracrine signals used by stem cells to communicate with their surrounding microenvironment.(4) We develop molecular imaging strategies to dynamically and quantitatively evaluate tissue regenerative processes in living animals. Our work is supported by an NIH R00 Pathway-to-Independence Award.

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