Developing enhanced differentiation frameworks of pluripotent stem cells for the establishment of tissue and disease models

This thesis focuses on the development of predictive tools that can aid in the discovery of novel ways of making different cells of the human body. This could be ultimately used for drug discovery and cell therapies. Through using these predictive tools, we discovered novel ways of generating cells of the brain, lung and muscle. We also used this knowledge to establish cell platforms, specifically lung and placenta cells, for the study of COVID-19 infection to further understand the disease and screen drugs.