Biomedical Research Core Center on Skin Stem Cells

描述（由申请人提供）：在此申请中，我们建议在哥伦比亚大学内科和外科医学院皮肤学系建立一个多学科的皮肤干细胞生物学中心。该中心将建立在皮肤科基础科学研究小组（BSRG）现有的卓越研究基础上，该小组致力于通过定义干细胞在维持上皮稳态中的作用，以及它们在疾病状态的发病机制中的作用，来了解干细胞对皮肤正常和异常生长的贡献。在此之前，该部门已经在六名杰出的研究人员的实验室中建立了一个活跃而强大的研究项目，专注于与角质细胞生物学相关的两个主要主题：干细胞和皮肤癌。我们已经确定了两位优秀的初级教员候选人，博士。Valentina Greco和Elena Ezhkova，她们都是国际知名的洛克菲勒大学Elaine Fuchs博士皮肤生物学实验室的博士后研究员。我们已经向这两位候选人发出正式邀请，让他们加入皮肤病学学院，并在病理学系共同任职。我们计划利用PSO通过NIAMS提供的资源，根据ARRA的指导方针，在未来12-18个月内支持招聘这两名优秀的初级教师候选人。博士的研究项目的增加。Greco和Ezhkova将加强我们研究项目的干细胞部分，从而使我们的部门能够为建立一个多学科研究人员的社区做出贡献，这些研究人员专注于提高当前对皮肤疾病基础生物学的理解。这一举措将允许这两位真正杰出的研究人员融入我们现有的干细胞项目。作为哥伦比亚大学皮肤干细胞生物学中心的一部分，他们将获得所需的密集和持续的职业发展支持，以确保他们成熟为独立的研究者，并拥有自己的同行评审资金。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this application, we propose to create a multi-disciplinary Center for Skin Stem Cell Biology based within the Department of Dermatology at the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia University. This center will build on the existing research excellence within the Basic Science Research Group (BSRG) based in the Department of Dermatology that is dedicated to understanding the contributions of stem cells to the normal and abnormal growth ofthe skin, by defining their role in maintaining epithelial homeostasis, as well as the manner in which they contribute to the pathogenesis of disease states. The department has previously established an active and robust research program in the labs of six outstanding research investigators focused on two major themes related to keratinocyte biology: stem cells and skin cancer. We have identified two superb junior Faculty candidates, Drs. Valentina Greco and Elena Ezhkova, both of whom are post-doctoral fellows in the internationally renowned skin biology laboratory of Dr. Elaine Fuchs at the Rockefeller University. We have extended formal offers to these two candidates to join the Faculty ofthe Department of Dermatology with joint appointments in the Department of Pathology. We plan to utilize the resources provided by this PSO through NIAMS to support the recruitment of these two stellar junior faculty candidates in the next 12-18 months, in accordance with the ARRA guidelines. The addition of the research programs of Drs. Greco and Ezhkova will strengthen the stem cell component of our research programs, thereby enabling our Department to contribute to building a community of multidisciplinary researchers focusing on the challenge of enhancing current understanding ofthe basic biology of skin diseases. This initiative will permit these two truly outstanding investigators to be engrafted into our existing stem cell programs. They will be given the .intensive and sustained career development support needed to assure their maturation into independent investigators with their own peer-reviewed funding as part of the Center for Skin Stem Cell Biology at Columbia University.