Allorecognition, or histocompatibility, is the ability of an individual to distinguish between its own cells and tissue and those of another individual, and has been described in nearly all multicellular phyla. Why is this ability so widespread, and why has it been conserved through evolution? The answer touches upon fundamental questions in a number of disciplines, including immunology, stem cell and developmental biology. The overall objective of the De Tomaso laboratory is to take an interdisciplinary approach to understand the biology and evolution of allorecognition. Our model organism for these studies is a primitive marine chordate, the ascidian Botryllus schlosseri.

The De Tomaso Lab is part of the Department of Pathology at the Stanford School of Medicine. The Lab is located at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, about 90 miles south of the main campus.

Our laboratory is actively involved in several lines of investigation:

1. The molecular mechanisms which underlie allorecognition in Botryllus and the origins of the vertebrate adaptive immune system.

2. Isolation and analysis of pluripotent, parasitic stem cells

3. The genetic and developmental processes underlying recurring asexual budding (regeneration)

4. Evolution of Allorecognition Molecules

5. Ecological Consequences of Allorecognition