Research Faculty

Thorsten Schlaeger, PhD

Department Stem Cell Program  
Hospital Title Principal Investigator
Academic Title Head of hESC Core Lab, Stem Cell Program
Phone 617-919-2082
Fax  
Email Thorsten Schlaeger
Location One Blackfan Circle
Karp Building, 8th Floor
Boston
MA 02115

Research Overview

Our research efforts focus on generation and directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. We combine fluorescent imaging and other stem cell based assays with chemical genetics and high-throughput screening approaches to identify genes, agents, and pathways that affect the formation, function, and fate of pluripotent stem cells. Our main long-term goal is to derive clinical-grade blood stem cells from patient-specific pluripotent stem cells.

About Thorsten Schlaeger, PhD

Dr Schlaeger holds a PhD in Human Biology from Philipps University in Marburg, Germany (1998). He received the Otto Hahn medal for work on endothelial specific gene regulation, which he performed as a graduate student in the laboratories of the late Dr. Werner Risau (Max Planck Institute) and Dr. Tom N. Sato (Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital). Dr. Schlaeger then joined Dr. Stuart Orkin's laboratory at Children's Hospital Boston in 1999 where he studied the role of the stem cell leukemia gene in endothelial and hematopoetic stem cells. Following a 16-month stint as Senior Scientist running gene targeting projects in the mouse genetics group of Cell and Molecular Technologies Inc. (now part of Invitrogen), Dr. Schlaeger returned to Children's in 2005 to serve as Head of the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility within the hospital's Stem Cell Program.

Key Publications

  • Haematopoietic stem cells retain long-term repopulating activity and multipotency in the absence of stem-cell leukaemia SCL/tal-1 gene. Mikkola HK, Klintman J, Yang H, Hock H, Schlaeger TM, Fujiwara Y, Orkin SH. Nature. 2003;421(6922):547-51.
     
  • Decoding hematopoietic specificity in the helix-loop-helix domain of the transcription factor SCL/Tal-1. Schlaeger TM, Schuh A, Flitter S, Fisher A, Mikkola H, Orkin SH, Vyas P, Porcher C. Mol Cell Biol. 2004;24(17):7491-502.
     
  • Tie2Cre-mediated gene ablation defines the stem-cell leukemia gene (SCL/tal1)-dependent window during hematopoietic stem-cell development. Schlaeger TM, Mikkola HK, Gekas C, Helgadottir HB, Orkin SH. Blood. 2005;105(10):3871-4.
     
  • Teratoma formation assays with human embryonic stem cells: a rationale for one type of human-animal chimera. Lensch MW, Schlaeger TM, Zon LI, Daley GQ. Cell Stem Cell. 2007;1(3):253-8.
     
  • Derivation and maintenance of human embryonic stem cells from poor-quality in vitro fertilization embryos. Lerou PH, Yabuuchi A, Huo H, Miller JD, Boyer LF, Schlaeger TM, Daley GQ. Nat Protoc. 2008;3(5):923-33.
     
  • Live cell imaging distinguishes bona fide human iPS cells from partially reprogrammed cells. Chan EM, Ratanasirintrawoot S, Park IH, Manos PD, Loh YH, Huo H, Miller JD, Hartung O, Rho J, Ince TA, Daley GQ, Schlaeger TM. Nat Biotechnol. 2009;27(11):1033-7.
     
  • Knockdown of Fanconi anemia genes in human embryonic stem cells reveals early developmental defects in the hematopoietic lineage. Tulpule A, Lensch MW, Miller JD, Austin K, D'Andrea A, Schlaeger TM, Shimamura A, Daley GQ. Blood. 2010;115(17):3453-62.
     
  • Differential methylation of tissue- and cancer-specific CpG island shores distinguishes human induced pluripotent stem cells, embryonic stem cells and fibroblasts. Doi A, Park IH, Wen B, Murakami P, Aryee MJ, Irizarry R, Herb B, Ladd-Acosta C, Rho J, Loewer S, Miller J, Schlaeger T, Daley GQ, Feinberg AP. Nat Genet. 2009;41(12):1350-3.