Project 8p funded Professor Warmflash’s lab to study early fetal development in the lab using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from 8p heroes. The Warmflash lab specializes in a technique called the germ layer micropatterning assay, which offers a window into how the growing embryo organizes itself.
A quick refresher on developmental biology. All organ systems of the body originate from one of the three germ layers: ectoderm (outer layer), mesoderm (middle layer), and endoderm (inner layer). The endoderm gives rise to digestive and respiratory systems. The mesoderm gives rise to the skeleton, muscle, heart and bones. The ectoderm births the nervous system and the skin.
