Dr. Colas earned his PhD from the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.
2011-2013: American Heart Association Post-Doctoral Fellowship
2011: Best Talk Award (Development & Aging Post-Doctoral Retreat, SBP)
2010-2011: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Post-Doctoral Fellowship
2006-2007: French Myopathy Association PhD Fellowship
2003-2006: Ministry of French Research PhD Fellowship
2000-2001: Erasmus Undergraduate Fellowship
Related Disease
Cardiomyopathies, Cardiovascular Diseases, Heart Disease
Phenomena or Processes
Cardiovascular Biology, Cell Biology, Development and Differentiation, Embryogenesis, Embryonic/Pluripotent Stem Cells, Regenerative Biology, RNA-Based Gene Regulation, Transcription Factors
Our laboratory focuses on the identification and reconstruction of novel regulatory pathways controlling the determination and the acquisition of cardiovascular cell fates in humans. To that end, our team has developed a unique set of cell-based assays suitable for high-throughput functional screening, which enables the implementation of unbiased and systematic experimental approaches with unprecedented exploratory power. Our goal is to leverage generated knowledge to produce better cardiomyocytes to model cardiac diseases in-a-dish as well as to devise innovative cardiac regenerative strategies. In parallel, our lab is also dedicated to identify and develop new drugs promoting cardiac regeneration and/or helping preserving heart function after injury.
Cunningham TJ, Brade T, Sandell LL, Lewandoski M, Trainor PA, Colas A, Mercola M, Duester G
PLoS One 2015 ;10(9):e0137894Mercola M, Colas A, Willems E
Circ Res 2013 Feb 1 ;112(3):534-48McKeithan WL, Colas AR, Bushway PJ, Ray S, Mercola M
Curr Protoc Stem Cell Biol 2012 Nov ;Chapter 1():Unit 1F.13Dr. Blaho began her research career focused on how bioactive lipids contribute to the innate immune response against bacterial infection, characterizing roles for eicosanoids in the generation and resolution of Lyme arthritis pathology. The wild diversity of lipid species led Dr. Blaho to Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City to pursue postdoctoral training in the field of sphingolipids, particularly sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), and its receptors. Advancing to Instructor at Weill Cornell and later, Research Assistant Professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys, Dr. Blaho continued her research in lipid chaperones and receptor signaling, with an emphasis on cell-type differential effects on hematopoiesis and immunity in response to cell stressors. In August of 2019, Dr. Blaho joined the faculty at the Institute as an Assistant Professor in the Immunity and Pathogenesis program.
The immune system has the power to protect us from invading pathogens and cancer or to initiate a “self-destruct” sequence that consumes us with inflammation and autoimmunity. It is fascinating to me that a simple ubiquitous fat molecule like S1P can control the birth and destiny of immune cells.
2014-2016: Instructor, Weill Cornell Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Neuroscience
2009-2014: Post-doctoral training, Weill Cornell Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
2007-2009: Post-doctoral training, University of Missouri, Columbia, Veterinary Pathobiology
2007: PhD, University of Missouri, Columbia, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology – BS
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute R01
American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant
2014-15: Leon Levy Neuroscience Foundation Grant
2015: Foundation LeDucq SphingoNet Young Investigator Grant
2009-12: National Cancer Institute Individual Ruth L. Kirschstein Post-doctoral Fellowship
2017: British Journal of Pharmacology Lecture: FASEB Summer Research Conference on Lysophospholipids and Related Mediators – from bench to clinic.
2014: Leon Levy Foundation Neuroscience Fellow
2010: Keystone Scholarship, Bioactive Lipids: Biochemistry and Diseases
2008: Keystone Scholarship, Eicosanoids and Other Mediators of Chronic Inflammation
2007: Young Investigator Award in Inflammation, Eicosanoid Research Foundation
2004: National Academy of Sciences Christine Mirzayan Policy Fellow, Institute of Medicine Board on Health Sciences Policy
Related Disease
Biochemistry, Immune Disorders, Inflammatory/Autoimmune Disease, Leukemia/Lymphoma, Molecular Biology, Multiple Sclerosis
Phenomena or Processes
Adaptive Immunity, Apoptosis and Cell Death, Cell Signaling, G-Protein Coupled Receptors, Hematopoiesis, Inflammation, Innate Immunity
Anatomical Systems and Sites
Hematopoietic System, Immune System and Inflammation, Vasculature
Research Models
Human Adult/Somatic Stem Cells, Mouse, Mouse Somatic Stem Cells, Primary Cells
Techniques and Technologies
Cell Biology, Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Confocal Microscopy, Fluorescence Microscopy, Gene Expression, Lipid Bilayers, Mass Spectrometry
The lipid sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) is found in high levels in the blood and lymph and is primarily carried by the protein ApoM, found on HDL. S1P can affect the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems via interaction with cell surface-expressed receptors, S1P1-5. My work is determining how changing S1P carrier or receptor expression and signaling can affect cells of the immune system, particularly in the bone marrow, and how this alters their ability to respond to stress or infection.
Blaho VA, Hla T
J Lipid Res 2014 Aug ;55(8):1596-608Alessandra Sacco completed her studies at La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy. In 2002, Dr. Sacco joined the laboratory of Prof. Helen M. Blau at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow (2002-2009), where she studied cell fusion between hematopoietic cells and muscle cells, as a potential mechanism for tissue repair. Recently she defined strategies to isolate adult skeletal muscle stem cells and performed single cell transplantation experiments, providing the first definitive evidence that adult muscle stem cells are able to self-renew in vivo. She received research funding from Muscular Dystrophy Association (2006-2008). In 2010, Dr. Sacco was recruited as Assistant Professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys.
Related Disease
Childhood Diseases, Muscular Dystrophy, Sarcopenia/Aging-Related Muscle Atrophy
Skeletal muscle wasting is a devastating pathology that occurs in several human conditions, including muscular dystrophies, aging, and HIV. There is currently no cure for it. Muscle stem cells offer great promise for future therapies, but their use is currently limited by our poor understanding of the regulatory mechanisms directing their behavior. We are interested in understanding how extrinsic and intrinsic factors regulate muscle stem cells in vivo. Current projects include:
Gilbert PM, Havenstrite KL, Magnusson KE, Sacco A, Leonardi NA, Kraft P, Nguyen NK, Thrun S, Lutolf MP, Blau HM
Science 2010 Aug 27 ;329(5995):1078-81Bhutani N, Brady JJ, Damian M, Sacco A, Corbel SY, Blau HM
Nature 2010 Feb 25 ;463(7284):1042-7Cosgrove BD, Sacco A, Gilbert PM, Blau HM
Differentiation 2009 Sep-Oct ;78(2-3):185-94