Diana Laird, PhD
Full Prof In Residence
Ob/Gyn, Reproductive Sciences
School of Medicine

Our work focuses on three interrelated questions: do all developing germ cells have equal potential to give rise to functional eggs or sperm; how do environmental inputs affect germ cells during development, and what is the role of germ cells in ovarian and systemic aging? Using mouse models, human cells, and naked mole rats, we explore these questions in the real-world contexts of prenatal exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and psychosocial stress as well as genetic causes of infertility such as Fragile X Primary Ovarian Insufficiency. Our work spans the fields of epigenetics, developmental and stem cell biology. As a federally-funded lab in a public university, our broad mission is to advance knowledge toward improving human health, provide research training for students and postdoctoral fellows, and promote public awareness of science.…

Education & Training

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• Postdoctoral Fellowship Developmental Biology Sloan Kettering Institute 2007
• Ph.D. Biological Sciences Stanford University 2003
• A.B. Physics Harvard University 1995

Interests

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• stem cells
• cell competition
• aging
• epigenetics
• environmental exposures
• environmental health
• reproductive biology
• endocrine disruptors
• primordial germ cells
• Developmental biology

Websites

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• @@DJ_Laird on Twitter (twitter.com)
• laird lab website (lairdlab.ucsf.edu)

Grants and Projects

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• Using the Ovary to Hack Aging, W.M. Keck Foundation, 2019-2022
• The intersection of stress and environmental chemicals in germ cell reprogramming, NIH, 2017-2022
• Fmr1 Function and Repeat Expansion in the Developing Germline, NIH, 2017-2021
• Assessing transgenerational effects of Phthalates on primordial germ cells, NIH, 2013-2017
• The 2014 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting, NIH, 2014-2015
• Cell competition in the developing mouse germline, NIH, 2010-2015
• The UCSF Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Center - Pilot Program, NIH/NIEHS

Publications (49)

Top publication keywords:
Receptors, GlucocorticoidCell DifferentiationTestisCell MovementOocytesGerm CellsProto-Oncogene Proteins c-kitClone CellsHereditySelection, GeneticWnt-5a ProteinUrochordataReceptor Tyrosine Kinase-like Orphan ReceptorsOvaryMeiosis

• Iterative oxidation by TET1 is required for reprogramming of imprinting control regions and patterning of mouse sperm hypomethylated regions.
  Developmental cell 2024 Prasasya RD, Caldwell BA, Liu Z, Wu S, Leu NA, Fowler JM, Cincotta SA, Laird DJ, Kohli RM, Bartolomei MS
• Differential susceptibility of male and female germ cells to glucocorticoid-mediated signaling.
  eLife 2024 Cincotta SA, Richardson N, Foecke MH, Laird DJ
• Differential susceptibility of male and female germ cells to glucocorticoid-mediated signaling.
  eLife 2024 Steven A Cincotta, Nainoa Richardson, Mariko H Foecke, Diana J Laird
• Differential susceptibility of male and female germ cells to glucocorticoid-mediated signaling.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2023 Cincotta SA, Richardson N, Foecke MH, Laird DJ
• Transcriptional repression upon S phase entry protects genome integrity in pluripotent cells.
  Nature structural & molecular biology 2023 Gökbuget D, Lenshoek K, Boileau RM, Bayerl J, Huang H, Wiita AP, Laird DJ, Blelloch R

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• Generation of Schwann cell derived melanocytes from hPSCs identifies pro-metastatic factors in melanoma.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2023 Samuel RM, Navickas A, Maynard A, Gaylord EA, Garcia K, Bhat S, Majd H, Richter MN, Elder N, Le D, Nguyen P, Shibata B, Llabata ML, Selleri L, Laird DJ, Darmanis S, Goodarzi H, Fattahi F
• Eggs made from male mouse stem cells using error-prone culture.
  Nature 2023 Bayerl J, Laird DJ
• Postnatal oogenesis leads to an exceptionally large ovarian reserve in naked mole-rats.
  Nature communications 2023 Brieño-Enríquez MA, Faykoo-Martinez M, Goben M, Grenier JK, McGrath A, Prado AM, Sinopoli J, Wagner K, Walsh PT, Lopa SH, Laird DJ, Cohen PE, Wilson MD, Holmes MM, Place NJ
• TET1 Catalytic Activity is Required for Reprogramming of Imprinting Control Regions and Patterning of Sperm-Specific Hypomethylated Regions.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2023 Prasasya RD, Caldwell BA, Liu Z, Wu S, Leu NA, Fowler JM, Cincotta SA, Laird DJ, Kohli RM, Bartolomei MS
• A Roadmap for Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Intact Mouse Ovary.
  Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) 2023 Soygur B, Foecke MH, Gaylord EA, Fries A, Li J, Arora R, Laird DJ
• Ovary Development: Insights From a Three-Dimensional Imaging Revolution.
  Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 2021 Soygur B, Laird DJ
• Natural selection at the cellular level: insights from male germ cell differentiation.
  Cell death and differentiation 2021 Nguyen DH, Laird DJ
• Intercellular bridges coordinate the transition from pluripotency to meiosis in mouse fetal oocytes.
  Science advances 2021 Soygur B, Jaszczak RG, Fries A, Nguyen DH, Malki S, Hu G, Demir N, Arora R, Laird DJ
• Apoptosis in the fetal testis eliminates developmentally defective germ cell clones.
  Nature cell biology 2020 Nguyen DH, Soygur B, Peng SP, Malki S, Hu G, Laird DJ
• MON-LB130 Glucocorticoid Receptor Signaling and Stress in the Developing Mammalian Germline.
  Journal of the Endocrine Society 2020 Steven Anthony Cincotta, Diana Laird
• The UCSF Mouse Inventory Database Application, an Open Source Web App for Sharing Mutant Mice Within a Research Community.
  G3 (Bethesda, Md.) 2020 Wall E, Scoles J, Joo A, Klein O, Quinonez C, Bush JO, Martin GR, Laird DJ
• Maternal vitamin C regulates reprogramming of DNA methylation and germline development.
  Nature 2019 DiTroia SP, Percharde M, Guerquin MJ, Wall E, Collignon E, Ebata KT, Mesh K, Mahesula S, Agathocleous M, Laird DJ, Livera G, Ramalho-Santos M
• Heterogeneity of primordial germ cells.
  Current topics in developmental biology 2019 Nguyen DH, Jaszczak RG, Laird DJ
• Heterogeneity of transposon expression and activation of the repressive network in human fetal germ cells.
  Development (Cambridge, England) 2019 Reznik B, Cincotta SA, Jaszczak RG, Mateo LJ, Shen J, Cao M, Baskin L, Ye P, An W, Laird DJ
• How to lose your inheritance.
  Nature 2018 Laird DJ
• Kinesin superfamily protein Kif26b links Wnt5a-Ror signaling to the control of cell and tissue behaviors in vertebrates.
  eLife 2017 Susman MW, Karuna EP, Kunz RC, Gujral TS, Cantú AV, Choi SS, Jong BY, Okada K, Scales MK, Hum J, Hu LS, Kirschner MW, Nishinakamura R, Yamada S, Laird DJ, Jao LE, Gygi SP, Greenberg ME, Ho HH
• A pilgrim's progress: Seeking meaning in primordial germ cell migration.
  Stem cell research 2017 Cantú AV, Laird DJ
• Smad4 regulates growth plate matrix production and chondrocyte polarity.
  Biology open 2017 Whitaker AT, Berthet E, Cantu A, Laird DJ, Alliston T
• Patterning of sharp cellular interfaces with a reconfigurable elastic substrate.
  Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro 2017 Curtis A, Li DJ, DeVeale B, Onishi K, Kim MY, Blelloch R, Laird DJ, Hui EE
• Insights from imaging the implanting embryo and the uterine environment in three dimensions.
  Development (Cambridge, England) 2016 Arora R, Fries A, Oelerich K, Marchuk K, Sabeur K, Giudice LC, Laird DJ
• ROR2 in the adult mouse testis.
  Molecular reproduction and development 2016 Arora R, Laird DJ
• Discrete somatic niches coordinate proliferation and migration of primordial germ cells via Wnt signaling.
  The Journal of cell biology 2016 Cantú AV, Altshuler-Keylin S, Laird DJ
• Meiotic onset is reliant on spatial distribution but independent of germ cell number in the mouse ovary.
  Journal of cell science 2016 Arora R, Abby E, Ross AD, Cantu AV, Kissner MD, Castro V, Ho HY, Livera G, Laird DJ
• A miR-372/let-7 Axis Regulates Human Germ Versus Somatic Cell Fates.
  Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio) 2016 Tran ND, Kissner M, Subramanyam D, Parchem RJ, Laird DJ, Blelloch RH
• DAZL and CPEB1 regulate mRNA translation synergistically during oocyte maturation.
  Journal of cell science 2016 Sousa Martins JP, Liu X, Oke A, Arora R, Franciosi F, Viville S, Laird DJ, Fung JC, Conti M
• Cryopreservation and recovery of human endometrial epithelial cells with high viability, purity, and functional fidelity.
  Fertility and sterility 2015 Chen JC, Hoffman JR, Arora R, Perrone LA, Gonzalez-Gomez CJ, Vo KC, Laird DJ, Irwin JC, Giudice LC
• Follicle dynamics and global organization in the intact mouse ovary.
  Developmental biology 2015 Faire M, Skillern A, Arora R, Nguyen DH, Wang J, Chamberlain C, German MS, Fung JC, Laird DJ
• Novel domains of expression for orphan receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2 in the human and mouse reproductive system.
  Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists 2014 Arora R, Altman E, Tran ND, Laird DJ
• Wnt and Bmp fit germ cells to a T.
  Developmental cell 2013 Cantú AV, Laird DJ
• Vitamin C induces Tet-dependent DNA demethylation and a blastocyst-like state in ES cells.
  Nature 2013 Blaschke K, Ebata KT, Karimi MM, Zepeda-Martínez JA, Goyal P, Mahapatra S, Tam A, Laird DJ, Hirst M, Rao A, Lorincz MC, Ramalho-Santos M
• Humans put their eggs in more than one basket.
  Nature cell biology 2013 Laird DJ
• Primordial germ cells and gastrointestinal stromal tumors respond distinctly to a cKit overactivating allele.
  Human molecular genetics 2012 Chen L, Faire M, Kissner MD, Laird DJ
• miR-372/let-7 axis regulates human primordial germ cell specification.
  Fertility and Sterility 2012 N.D. Tran, M. Kissner, D. Laird, R. Blelloch
• Ror2 enhances polarity and directional migration of primordial germ cells.
  PLoS genetics 2011 Laird DJ, Altshuler-Keylin S, Kissner MD, Zhou X, Anderson KV
• Lin28-let7-Blimp1 Circuitry regulates human primordial germ cells (hPGC) development from human embryonic stem cells (hESC).
  Fertility and Sterility 2011 N.D. Tran, D. Laird, M. Kissner, M. Conti, R. Blelloch
• Establishment and characterization of human germ cells derived from embryonic stem cells (hESCs).
  Fertility and Sterility 2010 N.D. Tran, D. Laird, M. Kissner, D. Supramanyam, M. Conti, R. Blelloch
• Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocytes have the functional and proliferative capabilities needed for liver regeneration in mice.
  The Journal of clinical investigation 2010 Espejel S, Roll GR, McLaughlin KJ, Lee AY, Zhang JY, Laird DJ, Okita K, Yamanaka S, Willenbring H
• Stem cell trafficking in tissue development, growth, and disease.
  Cell 2008 Laird DJ, von Andrian UH, Wagers AJ
• Stem cells are units of natural selection in a colonial ascidian.
  Cell 2005 Laird DJ, De Tomaso AW, Weissman IL
• Identification of a novel gene involved in asexual organogenesis in the budding ascidian Botryllus schlosseri.
  Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists 2005 Laird DJ, Chang WT, Weissman IL, Lauzon RJ
• Predatory stem cells in the non-zebrafish chordate, Botryllus schlosseri.
  Zebrafish 2005 Laird DJ, De Tomaso AW
• Telomerase maintained in self-renewing tissues during serial regeneration of the urochordate Botryllus schlosseri.
  Developmental biology 2004 Laird DJ, Weissman IL
• Continuous development precludes radioprotection in a colonial ascidian.
  Developmental and comparative immunology 2004 Laird DJ, Weissman IL
• 50 million years of chordate evolution: seeking the origins of adaptive immunity.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2000 Laird DJ, De Tomaso AW, Cooper MD, Weissman IL