University of Arizona iPSC Core

The University of Arizona iPSC Core, a collaborative effort funded in part by the BIO5 Institute and the UA Center for Innovation in Brain Science, is located in the UA Sarver Heart Center.

Jared Churko, PhD, assistant professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and director of the University of Arizona Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) Core, joined the University of Arizona and the Sarver Heart Center in April 2018. Previously he was with Stanford University’s Cardiovascular Institute where he was an instructor.

Dr. Churko’s laboratory focuses on cardiovascular disease, particularly the study of heart muscle disease, combining systems biology, stem cell biology, cardiac biology, genetic engineering and bioinformatics to understand mechanisms leading to heart disease.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into many cell types, including beating heart muscle cells, with potential for developing targeted and individualized, or “precision” treatments.

Listen to an Arizona Science interview, "Using a Patient’s Own Cells in Regenerative Medicine Therapies."

Read "UA Scientist Identifies Cellular Gene Signatures for Heart Muscle Regeneration."

"Patient Stem Cells Point to Causes, Treatments of Congenital Heart Disease"