Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, Department of Internal Medicine

Dr. Karner is broadly trained in mouse genetics and embryology as well as bone and kidney biology. The Karner lab strives to understand the molecular underpinnings of cell fate specification and differentiation using bone development and homeostasis in the mouse as a model system. To do this, they focus primarily on the skeletal stem cell (SSC), a multipotent progenitor that gives rise to bone-forming osteoblasts. On the most basic level, osteoblasts are secretory cells responsible for producing and secreting the Collagen Type 1 rich extracellular matrix that comprises bone. Protein synthesis and secretion are demanding both from an energetic and biosynthetic standpoint requiring copious amounts of amino acids, ATP, and other metabolites. As such, the Karner lab focuses on osteoblast metabolism, namely what nutrients do osteoblasts require and how do they utilize them to generate the biomass to sustain the high rates of protein synthesis associated with proliferation, differentiation, and bone formation. Ultimately, the long-term goal of the Karner lab is to leverage this basic metabolic knowledge to rationally design therapeutic strategies to increase osteoblast differentiation and bone formation in patients with low bone mass disorders.