Gage Crump, Ph.D.

Gage Crump, Ph.D.
(Assoc. Prof. of Stem Cell Biology, USC)

FEATURED IN:

8.5 – The Alien Evolution (8.21.15)

ABOUT:

University honors Gage Crump and other faculty for mentorship

Posted April 4, 2017

USC Stem Cell scientist Gage Crump is one of seven faculty members with ties to the Health Sciences Campus receiving USC Mentoring Awards. The awards recognize faculty who exemplify the best in mentoring activities and programs, creating environments that further the academic success of students and faculty. ^[1] 

Crump Lab

USC Stem Cell

Lab Overview

Our lab is interested in how genetic information is decoded to generate the precise three-dimensional shapes of organs. As a model, we study the facial cartilages and bones of the larval zebrafish, which can be continuously imaged over time in living transgenic embryos. Specific research topics include the developmental origins of the neural crest progenitor cells that build the craniofacial skeleton, how these progenitors are selected to form cartilage versus bone and then assembled into region-specific shapes, and how folding of the neighboring epithelial tissues orchestrates this patterning. We are also interested in how the facial skeleton can be rebuilt into its correct shape following severe injuries. As many of the genes we study in fish play similar roles during human facial development, our findings are helping explain a variety of human craniofacial birth defects and providing novel insights into how to better stimulate bone repair in patients. ^[2]

^[1]  https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/university-honors-gage-crump-and-other-faculty-for-mentorship/

^[2] https://crumplab.usc.edu/