Owen Tamplin
Position title: Assistant Professor
Email: tamplin@wisc.edu
Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology
Blood stem cells and their microenvironment
- Education
- Ph.D., University of Toronto, Postdoctoral Research, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
- Research Fields
- Cell biology, development
- Lab Website
- https://tamplin.crb.wisc.edu/

Research Description:
In the Tamplin lab, we study the basic biology of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their microenvironment. These stem cells are clinically important as a curative treatment for many blood cancers and diseases. A better understanding of HSC and their supportive niche will help us improve these treatments and thereby patient survival.
We use complementary mouse and zebrafish model organisms. The zebrafish is now a well-established model for in vivo genetic and chemical screening. It is the only vertebrate genetic model that allows high-resolution live imaging of endogenous cellular behaviors. We can harness the strengths of the zebrafish model to develop and test unique hypotheses that could not be acquired using any other system. We then use the mouse model to test translation of our findings to a mammalian system.
Our experimental approaches integrate genetic tools, live imaging, and chemical biology. We use highly specific transgenic fluorescent reporters of HSC to directly observe endogenous stem cells in their niche. Together with reporters of other cell types, such as endothelial and stromal cells, we can track single stem cells as they interact with their surrounding cells. The goal of this research is to understand the mechanisms of communication between HSC and the niche.
Representative Publications:
Search PubMed for more publications by Owen Tamplin
Schiavo RK, Tamplin OJ. Vascular endothelial growth factor-c regulates hematopoietic stem cell fate in the dorsal aorta. Development. 2021 Dec 17;. doi: 10.1242/dev.199498. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34919128.
Shao L, Elujoba-Bridenstine A, Zink KE, Sanchez LM, Cox BJ, Pollok KE, Sinn AL, Bailey BJ, Sims EC, Cooper SH, Broxmeyer HE, Pajcini KV, Tamplin OJ. The neurotransmitter receptor Gabbr1 regulates proliferation and function of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Blood. 2021 Feb 11;137(6):775-787. doi: 10.1182/blood.2019004415. PubMed PMID: 32881992; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7885825.
Tamplin OJ, Durand EM, Carr LA, Childs SJ, Hagedorn EJ, Li P, Yzaguirre AD, Speck NA, Zon LI. Hematopoietic stem cell arrival triggers dynamic remodeling of the perivascular niche. Cell. 2015 Jan 15;160(1-2):241-52. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.12.032. PubMed PMID: 25594182; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4346256.