Jason R. Spence

The paper identifies a conserved profibrotic transitional state arising from alveolar and airway progenitors in fibrosis and shows its epigenetic regulation.

This study examines how human enteroids respond to various injuries, finding limited reactivation of developmental gene programs and highlighting the role of specific signaling pathways.

The paper constructs a developmental cell atlas of the human esophagus and develops in vitro models that recapitulate esophageal architecture, revealing WNT2B's role in regulating basal progenitor self-renewal.

The paper establishes a human iPSC-derived co-culture model of pulmonary fibrosis that reveals bidirectional fibrogenic epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk and identifies potential druggable pathways.

This study identifies RUNX2 as a regulator of WNT signaling in UC by analyzing snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq data from UC patient-derived colonoids.

The paper constructs a cellular atlas of the early postnatal human lung and identifies two distinct AT2 cell states linked to inflammatory signaling and clinical interventions.

This study generates region-specific airway basal stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells by modulating the NOGGIN-BMP axis, showing distinct differentiation potentials for proximal and distal airway cell types.

This paper develops a long-term in vitro model of human colonic epithelium that maintains barrier function for up to 30 days and responds to various challenges.

The paper compares mesenchymal cell development in mouse and human intestines using scRNA-seq, finding conserved cell types but differing lineage-defining genes.

The paper maps mesenchymal diversity in the developing human intestine and organoids using single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, identifying distinct fibroblast populations and their spatial organization.

This study develops a Matrigel-free method using synthetic hydrogels to form alveolar organoids, showing they secrete their own extracellular matrix for growth.

The paper creates a spatially-resolved atlas of the developing human lung, identifying a WNT-driven niche that regulates basal cells.

The paper identifies a novel APOE+ elastin-producing valve interstitial cell subtype and reveals the APOE-NOTCH signaling axis regulates elastogenesis during human cardiac valve remodeling.

This paper develops AORBs, a high-throughput human airway organoid system, to robustly assess antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 with high throughput and clinical relevance.

The paper identifies post-transcriptional regulators in early human small intestinal development using multi-omic analyses and presents a web tool for exploring miRNA regulation.

This study identifies opposing roles for TGFbeta and BMP signaling in generating AT2-like cells from lung progenitors in vitro.

This study develops iPSC-derived lung bud tip progenitor organoids that can be expanded and differentiated into airway or alveolar organoids, showing transcriptional similarity to in vivo progenitors.

The paper identifies a novel secretory-like cell type in the developing human lung that gives rise to pulmonary neuroendocrine cells and multiciliated cells.

The paper identifies EPIREGULIN as a niche factor that enables spatial organization in human intestinal organoids, mimicking the native intestine's structure and gene expression.

The paper identifies R-SPONDIN2-expressing mesenchymal cells as a niche for lung bud tip progenitors using single-cell RNA sequencing and functional experiments.

The paper demonstrates that geometric control of human pluripotent stem cells with BMP4 leads to efficient differentiation into hPGC-like cells, revealing NODAL signaling's critical role and improving differentiation efficiency.

This study identifies Tcf21+ mesenchymal progenitors in mouse testis that contribute to somatic cell development, homeostasis, and regeneration.

This study uses scRNA-seq to analyze human intestinal development, identifying cell sources of niche factors and their functional roles in stem cell maintenance.

The paper uses ChRO-seq to study chromatin dynamics during human small intestinal development, identifying enhancer activity and transcription patterns at HOX gene loci.

This paper reports the derivation of airway basal stem cells from human iPSCs, demonstrating their ability to self-renew and differentiate into airway epithelial cell types, and model lung diseases.

This study enhances the co-differentiation of intestinal organoids with endothelial cells, showing they share an intestinal-specific transcriptional signature with native cells.

The paper uses human intestinal organoids to create a single-cell transcriptome atlas, revealing molecular mechanisms of cell fate specification in the intestine.

The paper identifies SMAD signaling as a regulator of basal cell fate specification in the developing human lung using single-cell transcriptomics and organoid models.

The paper identifies HNF4 factors as critical for fetal intestinal maturation, showing their role in chromatin accessibility and gene regulation during the embryonic-to-fetal transition.

This study shows CDX2 has different chromatin-binding profiles in embryonic and adult intestines, leading to distinct gene activation patterns and developmental outcomes.