Dr. Crump uses zebrafish to understand how the cartilages and bones of our faces are patterned during development. His lab is discovering the local tissue-tissue interactions that control skeletal differentiation and morphogenesis in vivo, and also exploring novel ways of regenerating bone in adults.

Stories

USC's stem cell research center

California’s biggest stem cell experiment: The impact of the stem cell ballot proposition at USC

In 2008, USC broke ground on an $80 million building dedicated solely to stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The plans called for a monolithic structure clad in black marble and reflective …

Osteophyte; featured image for When it comes to arthritic bone spurs, stem cells hurt instead of heal

When it comes to arthritic bone spurs, stem cells hurt instead of heal

The same stem cells that heal broken bones can also generate arthritic bone spurs called osteophytes, according to a new study in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. “Although these stem and progenitor …

zebrafish gills; featured image for USC-led study traces the evolution of gill covers

USC-led study traces the evolution of gill covers

The emergence of jaws in primitive fish allowed vertebrates to become top predators. What is less appreciated is another evolutionary innovation that may have been just as important for the success of …

Peter Fabian; featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Peter Fabian wins NIH Pathway to Independence Award

USC Stem Cell scientist Peter Fabian wins NIH Pathway to Independence Award

As a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC, Peter Fabian has proven himself to be a big fish in the pool of aspiring faculty …

Writing; featured image for Manuscript writing course for KSOM students and postdocs

Manuscript writing course for KSOM students and postdocs

Are you a KSOM postdoc or graduate student working on a manuscript? Whether you’re staring at a blank page, or going through the umpteenth round of revisions, this free workshop will get …

USC Stem Cell at the world's largest stem cell conference (Photo by Sergio Bianco)

USC brings the world’s largest stem cell conference to Los Angeles

For the first time ever, the City of Los Angeles hosted the world’s largest stem cell conference. By choosing Los Angeles as the host city for this major annual meeting, the International …

Gage Crump (Photo courtesy of Gage Crump); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Gage Crump gives a bare bones explanation of eLife skeletal development study

USC Stem Cell scientist Gage Crump gives a bare bones explanation of eLife skeletal development study

How do our skeletons form during embryonic development? To approach this question, PhD student Dion Giovannone, research scientist Sandeep Paul and the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump looked to our …

Visualization of skull bone growth in live zebrafish (Image by Camilla Teng); featured image for Zebrafish make waves in our understanding of a common craniofacial birth defect

Zebrafish make waves in our understanding of a common craniofacial birth defect

Children are not as hard-headed as adults—in a very literal sense. Babies are born with soft spots and flexible joints called sutures at the junctions where various sections of their skull bones …

Erasing the distance (Photo by Sergio Bianco); featured image for USC Stem Cell and BCRegMed Virtual Symposium brings Canada to California

USC Stem Cell and BCRegMed Virtual Symposium brings Canada to California

It didn’t require plane tickets to bring together scientists from USC Stem Cell in Los Angeles and BCRegMed in Vancouver. During October’s Virtual Symposium, videoconferencing technology enabled these scientists to share ideas …

D'Juan Farmer (Photo by Sergio Bianco)

USC Stem Cell scientist D’Juan Famer named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna H. Gray Fellow

A little over a year after arriving at USC, D’Juan Farmer has been awarded one of the most prestigious fellowships available to postdoctoral fellows. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Hanna H. …

Note to self (Photo by Sergio Bianco); featured image for At the retreat for USC’s stem cell department, the students become the masters

At the retreat for USC’s stem cell department, the students become the masters

Students and trainees took center stage at the annual retreat for USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. They presented their latest research to the 180 stem cell scientists who …

Skeletal staining of the lower face of a zebrafish, with cartilage in blue, and bones and teeth in red. (Image by Pengfei Xu/Crump Lab); featured image for A Fox code for the face

A Fox code for the face

In the developing face, how do stem cells know whether to become cartilage, bones or teeth? To begin to answer this question, scientists from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump …

Kidney (Image by Lori O'Brien/Andy McMahon Lab, illustration by Mira Nameth)

Growing hope: New organs? Not yet, but stem cell research is getting closer

If you lose a limb, it’s lost for life. If you damage a kidney, you won’t grow a new one. And if you have a heart attack, the scars are there to …

Green labels skeletal stem cells in the embryonic zebrafish head, and magenta labels the early-forming cartilaginous facial skeleton. (Video by Lindsey Barske/Crump Lab); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientists chew on the mysteries of jaw development

USC Stem Cell scientists chew on the mysteries of jaw development

Scientists in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump have revealed how key genes guide the development of the jaw in zebrafish. These findings may offer clues for understanding craniofacial anomalies …

Larry Goldstein, the director of the stem cell program at the University of California, San Diego, and keynote speaker at the retreat for USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Scientists get into detail at the retreat for USC’s stem cell department

Scientists get into detail at the retreat for USC’s stem cell department

“The process of disease is about detail,” said Larry Goldstein, the director of the stem cell program at the University of California, San Diego, and keynote speaker at the retreat for USC’s …

Peter Fabian (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for As the Hearst Fellow, Peter Fabian studies small fish in a big pond at USC Stem Cell

As the Hearst Fellow, Peter Fabian studies small fish in a big pond at USC Stem Cell

During his career as a developmental biologist, Hearst Fellow Peter Fabian has studied many kinds of fish—from bichir and sturgeon, to gar and medaka. However, his favorite is the zebrafish, the current …

To understand craniofacial disorders, Crump’s group examines the skeletal development of zebrafish (head bones stained red). (Image by Sandeep Paul/Crump Lab); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Gage Crump earns an $8 million NIH Award for Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research

USC Stem Cell scientist Gage Crump earns an $8 million NIH Award for Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recognized USC scientist Gage Crump with an Award for Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research—an eight-year, $8 million grant to support the development of stem cell-based …

Joanna Smeeton with her husband Jeremy Morris and their twins Edie and Isaac (Photo by Sandra Kielback); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Joanna Smeeton wins NIH Pathway to Independence Award

USC Stem Cell scientist Joanna Smeeton wins NIH Pathway to Independence Award

After her breakthrough discovery that zebrafish can be used to study arthritis, postdoctoral fellow Joanna Smeeton has received a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pathway to Independence Award. Known as the …

Natasha Natarajan (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Trojan Natasha Natarajan looks to the future of stem cells

Trojan Natasha Natarajan looks to the future of stem cells

“Everyone in this audience right now, you all started out as a stem cell,” said Natasha Natarajan at the 2017 TEDxUSC conference. “And then your DNA came in, did all the work, …

Human development (Image courtesy of Evseenko Lab); featured image for Whittier Foundation backs new group of research projects

Whittier Foundation backs new group of research projects

The L.K. Whittier Foundation has been a critical source of funding for cancer research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, supporting clinicians and …