The Spees Lab explores the amazing ability of adult stem cells to repair tissues both ex vivo and in vivo. We are currently characterizing different sub-populations of adult non-hematopoietic stem cells and their potential to ameliorate cardiac and neural tissue injury through cellular differentiation, cell fusion, and growth factor/cytokine secretion.

With collaborators in the Center for Gene Therapy, Tulane University, we recently discovered a new mode of tissue repair: mitochondrial transfer from adult stem cells to cells with non-functional mitochondria. We are currently testing the repair of damaged cardiac myocytes by mito- transfer.