Alexander Meissner

Alexander Meissner is an assistant professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University and an associate member of the Broad Institute. His laboratory is utilizing next generation sequencing technologies to study the epigenome in early development, stem cells and cancer. A particular focus of his group is on developing and applying high-throughput bisulfite sequencing (HTBS) for genome-wide DNA methylation analysis. In addition, his lab is using loss-of-function and gain-of-function systems to gain insights into the interaction and regulation of epigenetic modifications (histone modifications and DNA methylation). The Meissner lab is studying the epigenetic changes and components involved in reprogramming and maintaining cellular states. Recent advances in transforming somatic cells directly into pluripotent (iPS) cells provide an attractive avenue for generating patient-specific stem cells, which could have enormous potential for regenerative medicine and provide a powerful tool for studies in developmental biology and pharmacology.

Learn more about research in the Meissner laboratory here.