Turning ordinary cells into working liver and gut cells
Decoding the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Reprogramming to Functional Hepatic and Intestinal Cell Types
Researchers are improving ways to turn common cells, like skin cells, into working liver and intestinal cells for people with liver or gastrointestinal conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11322691 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will study how specific transcription factors guide ordinary cells to become liver- or intestine-like cells by working with lab-grown mouse and human cells and tracing changes in gene activity during conversion. They will map gene regulatory states and chart how introduced factors engage chromatin to explain why reprogramming is often inefficient or produces mixed cell types. The team will focus on converting fibroblasts into induced endoderm progenitors (iEPs), improving their maturation and testing function, including whether engineered cells can engraft the liver or intestine in animal models. The project uses molecular assays and single-cell analyses and builds on prior R01 work to define the trajectories that produce functional target cells.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This project is primarily laboratory-based and does not offer patient treatments, though people with liver or intestinal conditions could potentially donate skin or tissue samples if the team seeks human-derived material.
Not a fit: Patients needing immediate organ transplants or urgent clinical care are unlikely to receive direct or near-term benefit from this basic reprogramming research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could create new sources of functional liver and intestinal cells for transplantation, personalized disease models, and better drug testing.
How similar studies have performed: Related work has produced hepatocyte-like cells and shown engraftment in animal models, but direct reprogramming to intestinal cell types remains less developed and less efficient.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Morris, Samantha Annette — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Morris, Samantha Annette
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.