The Saleem Lab

Dr. Ayesha Saleem’s lab recently received the Children’s Hospital Foundation Innovators Grant – a dragon’s den style of competition where innovative projects were pitched directly to funders. Four proposals were picked from the submitted entries, and after a number of presentations and hands-on activities, the winner was chosen in November 2019. The Innovators grant will help provide valuable support for pilot experiments by Saleem lab members that will investigate whether 1) extracellular vesicles can cross the fetal-maternal barrier, and the role of extracellular vesicles in rare genetic disorders that affect children, such as mitochondrial disease. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, double-membraned vehicles released from nearly all-living cells, and play an important role in cell-to-cell communication. We will employ transgenic reporter mice to deduce the cross-talk between fetus and mum, as mediated through fetus-derived EVs. The results can potentially shed light on the mechanisms underlying the developmental origins of childhood diseases. Stay tuned!

Click HERE to find out more about Dr. Saleem and follow her on twitter @asaleem_