The inner lining of the gut consists of a single cell layer of intestinal epithelium that form millions of crypts and villi. Stem cells – shown in green – reside at the bottom of the crypts and replicate daily,

We are proud to announce that Ya-Chieh Hsu, PhD, has been selected by the Pew Charitable Trust to receive an early-career award that will fund her research for the next four years. Hsu joined the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard as an assistant professor in 2014, at which time she also became Principal Faculty at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Her research is focused on uncovering the function and potential of transit-amplifying skin cells, which play a key role in tissue development, regeneration, and are especially sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. Understanding the role these cells play in skin regeneration could lead to the development of therapies that alleviate or prevent some of the side effects of chemotherapy, such as hair loss and compromised wound healing.

We have asked Hsu to share her impressions upon receiving the award.

Read more about Ya-Chieh Hsu named 2017 Pew scholar