Peter Reddien

Peter Reddien is an assistant professor of biology at MIT, a member at the Whitehead Institute and an associate member at the Broad Institute. His research focuses on one of the great mysteries of biology — the ability of organisms to regenerate missing body parts. His laboratory studies planarian flatworms, a classic regeneration model, to identify the molecular mechanisms of regeneration. Because planarian regeneration involves a population of adult pluripotent stem cells (the neoblasts), planarians are excellent organisms for in vivo studies of how stem cells can be naturally regulated to replace aged, damaged, and missing tissues. His group is developing strategies to take advantage of a newly developed arsenal of molecular tools for planaria studies, including the ongoing genome-sequencing project and RNA interference (RNAi) screens.

Learn more about research in the Reddien laboratory here.