Brian Cox
Profile and Department: Assistant Professor, Physiology, University of Toronto
Lab: Cox Lab
Research Interests:
Our research is largely focused on placenta biology and pathology. We work with stem cell-based models as well as mouse and human tissue. We use cell labelling and sorting to identify novel populations of cells and changes in their dynamics in development and disease. We apply high-throughput techniques such as mass spectrometry based proteomics, microarray transcriptional profiling, trangenesis (genetic manipulation of cells) and computational biology to model the dynamics of gene expression and regulation. Our goal is to understand the mammalian conserved and human specific origins of the trophoblast. This is will be accomplished by identifying genes essential to early trophoblast fate specification and maintenance. A better molecular understanding of the early trophoblast will be used to identify the early origins of placental disease and develop novel therapeutics and birth controls.