Leach, Steven D.

Our laboratory studies studies pancreatic progenitor cells in developing, regenerating and neoplastic pancreas, using both mouse and zebrafish model systems. Work from our lab has significantly contributed to our current understanding of pancreatic progenitor cells in adult and embryonic pancreas. These contributions include the initial characterization of Nestin-expressing epithelial cells as lineage-restricted exocrine progenitors in developing mouse pancreas, the identification of Notch as a critical regulator of exocrine differentiation in developing mouse and zebrafish pancreas, the identification and localization of Notch-responsive progenitor cells in developing zebrafish pancreas, and the identification of a critical role for epithelial Hedgehog signaling in pancreatic regeneration. In addition, our group was the first to identify abnormal Notch pathway activation as a characteristic feature of human pancreatic cancer. Most recently, our group generated the first zebrafish model of pancreatic cancer, and also identified a novel dedicated centroacinar progenitor cell in adult mouse pancreas. These studies of pancreatic development and pancreatic epithelial plasticity have widened our view pancreatic progenitor biology, and demonstrated previously unexpected plasticity among adult pancreatic epithelial cell types. This work has obvious relevance for human pancreatic disease, including diabetes and pancreatic cancer.