Jorge Múnera, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department: Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Programs: Cellular Injury, Inflammation, Fibrosis, End Organ Disease

 

 

Research Interests:

Dr. Múnera received his PhD at the University of California, San Diego, and did his postdoctoral training in Developmental Biology at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center prior to joining the faculty in the MUSC Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology Department. He is currently a Junior Investigator in the COBRE in Digestive and Liver Disease.

While studies of human gastrointestinal disease and function have previously been conducted in animal models, recent technological developments enabled the creation of not only human-specific, but also patient-specific models of organ function and pathology for investigation. Building on his postdoctoral studies in the embryonic development of the intestine and colon and colitis-associated cancer in animal systems, Dr. Múnera has worked to pioneer the generation of human colonic organoids (HCOs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Use of this system will enable the detailed in vitro study of cell-type interaction and signaling underlying diverse human diseases including Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome, Very Early Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease (VEO-IBD) and Colorectal Cancer. By harnessing cutting edge CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, Dr. Múnera and his lab can additionally determine the specific contribution of individual gene mutations identified by genetic studies in patient populations to the disease process.

Múnera Lab webpage

Publications:

PubMed Collection