Robert Lavker, PhD
Professor of Dermatology
Director, Dermatology Research
To contact Dr. Lavker:
Phone: 312-503-4315
e-mail: r-lavker@northwestern.edu
Dr. Lavker's website
PubMed
Reference Lookup
Research Interests
Dr. Lavker's laboratory has centered on investigations of processes of proliferation
and differentiation in keratinizing tissues. His laboratory in conjunction
with Tung-Tien Sun's laboratory at NYU was the first to demonstrate that stem
cells of the corneal epithelium were located within the limbal epithelium.
This finding has had substantial impact on corneal epithelial transplantation
for treating patients with damage to the ocular surface. The fornical epithelium
has also been demonstrated to be enriched in conjunctival epithelial stem
cells. With respect to the skin, Drs. Lavker and Sun were the first to demonstrate
the existence of stem cells at the tips of the deep rete ridges of palm epidermis,
and in the bulge region of the outer root sheath epithelium of the hair follicle.
The latter observation formed the basis for a new hypothesis on the mechanism(s)
involved in the regulation of the hair growth cycle. More recently, novel
techniques have been developed that can selectively tag subpopulations of
proliferating cells, and the hair follicle has been shown to be a major repository
of skin keratinocyte stem cells. This indicates that the bulge follicular
stem cells are bipotent because they give rise not only to the hair follicle
but also to the epidermis.
The Lavker laboratory also has a long-standing interest in studying the intrinsic and extrinsic effects of age on the structure of the epidermis and dermis. To this end, the laboratory has described chronic inflammatory changes in photodamaged skin and provided evidence of mast cell-fibroblast interactions. More recently the laboratory has focused on the role of ultraviolet A (UVA) in the etiology of photodamaged skin. Findings suggest that UVA may contribute significantly to long-term actinic damage and underscore the need for effective broad UVA-blocking sunscreens.