D. Fernandez-Antoran

This paper introduces epithelioids, a 3D culture system for mouse and human epithelia that maintains structure and function over long periods, enabling study of long-term biological processes.

This study shows p53 mutations in normal esophagus drive clonal expansion but are constrained by clonal competition, and LOH is critical for malignant transformation.

The paper shows that mutant clones in normal epithelium outcompete and eliminate esophageal micro-tumors through cell competition, preventing tumor formation.

The paper shows that reducing aerobic glycolysis differences between mutant and wild-type cells limits the competitive advantage of PIK3CA mutant progenitors in the esophagus.

This paper develops a method to measure chromatin compaction in live and fixed cells using SiR-DNA fluorescence lifetime, revealing compaction in differentiating cells and decompaction during stem cell transitions.

This study uses lineage tracing and proliferation assays to show that squamous epithelial tissues are maintained by a single population of proliferating cells, not multiple stem cell types.