Erik J. Forsberg
Faculty Erik J. Forsberg
Erik J. Forsberg
Executive Director, WiCell Research Institute
eforsberg@wicell.org
National Stem Cell Bank Home Page
Mission
My goal is to guide the WiCell Research Institute in its mission to advance pluripotent stem cell research at the UW-Madison and worldwide. WiCell offers fully equipped research space, cell lines, reagents, and training to SCRMC scientists. WiCell’s own research programs focus on improving stem cell culturing and cryopreservation methods, applying new cytogenetic tools to analyze the chromosomal and genomic stability of stem cell lines, and developing new pluripotent stem cell lines suitable for clinical use with the Waisman Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility. WiCell is home to the National Stem Cell Bank as well as the WISC Bank that contain a growing number pluripotent stem cell lines for distribution worldwide. WiCell, an affiliate of WARF that was formed in October 1999 as a support organization to the university, is based at University Research Park in Madison and has another facility near the UW–Madison campus that is available for use by SCRMC members.
Relevant Research Description
I became interested in cellular reprogramming during my work at Infigen, Inc. where we cloned and genetically engineered cattle, pigs and sheep for commercial applications. A major focus of research at Infigen was to understand how the transfer of nuclei from many types of differentiated cells into enucleated oocytes could result in ‘totipotent’ reconstructed embryos. The goal of this research was to develop more predictable and efficient methods to clone animals. While we found that the expression of certain genes appeared to correlate with nuclear transfer success and that certain exogenous factors applied to donor cells seemed to improve cloning efficiencies, the results were not substantiated. Hence, a major interest of mine is to discover what defines the state of totipotency and how it differs from pluripotency.
Selected References
Forsberg EJ, Strelchenko NS, Augenstein ML, Betthauser JM, Childs LA, Eilertsen KJ, Enos JM, Forsythe TM, Golueke PJ, Koppang RW, Lange G, Lesmeister TL, Mallon KS, Mell GD, Misica PM, Pace MM, Pfister-Genskow M, Voelker GR, Watt SR, Bishop MD: Production of cloned cattle from in vitro systems. Biol Reprod 67:327-333, 2002
Cezar GG, Bartolomei MS, Forsberg EJ, First NL, Bishop MD, Eilertsen KJ: Genome-wide epigenetic alterations in cloned bovine fetuses. Biol Reprod 68:1009-1014, 2003
Forsberg EJ: Commercial applications of nuclear transfer cloning: three examples. Reprod Fertil Dev 17:59-68, 2005
Pfister-Genskow M, Myers C, Childs LA, Lacson JC, Patterson T, Betthauser JM, Goueleke PJ, Koppang RW, Lange G, Fisher P, Watt SR, Forsberg EJ, Zheng Y, Leno GH, Schultz RM, Liu B, Chetia C, Yang X, Hoeschele I, Eilertsen KJ: Identification of differentially expressed genes in individual bovine preimplantation embryos produced by nuclear transfer: improper reprogramming of genes required for development. Biol Reprod 72:546-555, 2005
Watt SR, Betthauser JM, Augenstein ML, Childs LA, Mell GD, Forsberg EJ, Eisen A: Direct and rapid modification of a porcine xenoantigen gene (GGTA1). Transplantation 82:975-978, 2006
Beyhan Z, Forsberg EJ, Eilertsen KJ, Kent-First M, First NL: Gene expression in bovine nuclear transfer embryos in relation to donor cell efficiency in producing live offspring. Mol Reprod Dev 74:18-27, 2007