Research in our group is broadly focused on the design of new therapies to treat injured and/or diseased secretory organs, such as the salivary glands. We study the molecular mechanisms by which epithelial stem/progenitor cells interact with their environment during organ development, adult tissue homeostasis, radiation- induced damage, auto-immune disease and/or malignancies. Our research uses a wide range of approaches, including organ development, in vivo cell and gene therapies, molecular and epigenetic assays, ex vivo and in vivo engineering techniques, and various animal models to better understand the diseased/injured organ and move regenerative therapies forward into the clinic.