Jackson Laboratory

The Pera Lab

Principal Investigator: Martin Pera, Ph.D.

The Jackson Laboratory
Bar Harbor, ME

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Human pluripotent stem cells and the human embryo: Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) have opened up a previously inaccessible phase of the human life cycle to experimental study.

Our laboratory has two main areas of research. We use human pluripotent stem cells to study extrinsic factors that regulate self-renewal, pluripotency and lineage specification during early human development. We also carry out functional genomic analyses in human and mouse pluripotent stem cells to identify genetic factors that influence regeneration and repair in the central nervous system. We are very pleased to be collaborating with the Nishina laboratory on a study of the genetics of macular degeneration, a common cause of blindness in the aging population.

Full Scientific Report

Announcements

July 04, 2017

New Pera Lab Staff

Research HighlightJanuary 04, 2018
The state of the science in culturing totipotent stem cells
A review in the journal Cell Stem Cells by two JAX scientists reports on the latest efforts to isolate and culture the elusive populations of stem cells that most closely resemble very early (two-cell stage) totipotent cells.

Press ReleaseAugust 15, 2016
Stem cell expert Martin Pera joins faculty
Martin F. Pera, Ph.D., is a leading stem cell researcher with interests in neuroscience and regenerative medicine. He will join The Jackson Laboratory in January 2017.

Lab Staff

Tracy McGarr, M.S.

Research Assistant III

My primary research interest is in stem cell research.
Martin Pera, Ph.D.

Professor

The extrinsic regulation of self-renewal and lineage specification of human pluripotent stem cells. The genetic basis for individual variation in the response of the central nervous system to injury.
Daniel Cortes-Perez, M.D., Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Stem cell biology and neural differentiation to study neurological diseases and aging using genetic approaches. Axonal repair, neurotrophic factors and DYRK1a are also of interest
Chien-Yu Tung

Research Assistant III

My primary research interests are in stem cell research, immunology, and antibodies.
Michelle White

Research Administrative Assistant

I work as an Research Administrative Assistant for the Trowbridge, Carter, Braun, Lu & Pera labs.

Open Positions

Dr. Martin Pera and Dr. Patsy Nishina at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine are seeking a Research Assistant II to join the Pera lab. The successful applicant will be part of an interdisciplinary team of scientists working to identify genes involved in macular degeneration, the most common cause of vision loss. We will use human pluripotent stem cells to create disease in dish models, to study the early changes in the retinal pigment epithelial cells in this condition, which cause dysfunction.

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Selected Publications

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