Tiziano Barberi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Southwest National Primate Research Center

Dr. Tiziano Barberi is a stem cell biologist working with human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). The major goals of his lab are to develop technologies that lead to the generation of specialized cells derived from hPSCs for potential treatments of degenerative conditions and for the understanding of early human development (cell fate specification). In particular, he works on the derivation of mesodermal (skeletal muscle) and ectodermal (neural retina, cranial placode, neural crest) cells.

Related Diseases: Muscular dystrophy, retina degeneration and anosmia.

Techniques: FACS sorting, tissue culture, PCR, Immunocytochemistry, Western Blot, RNAseq, gene editing (CRISPR).

Research & Grants

Dr. Tiziano Barberi's lab researches human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). We are currently researching hESC and iPSC (collectively named hPSC) as an in vitro model of cell fate determination and lineage specification and to obtain specialized cells.

To direct the differentiation of hPSC into the fates of interest, we established specific culture conditions that combine the use of differently coated dishes with a serum-free medium and an appropriate cocktail of growth factors and/or active small molecules.

Upon differentiation, we use fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) technology to purify the desired cell populations. FACS-based purification is an essential prerequisite that provides the basis for the next step of their studies. Our goal is to generate hPSC-derived specialized progeny for drug screening, disease modeling, and pre-clinical applications.
Publications

Borchin B, Chen J, Barberi T. Derivation and FACS-mediated purification of PAX3+/PAX7+ skeletal muscle precursors from human pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Reports 1: 620-631, 2013.

Mengarelli I, Barberi T. Derivation of multiple cranial tissues and isolation of lens epithelium-like cells from human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cells Transl Med 2: 94-106, 2013.