Understanding skin regeneration tackles key areas of medicine

The human body is constantly producing brand-new skin cells and shedding old ones. In fact, every day, the body expels 30,000 to 40,000 old skin cells meaning that the skin you have now will be gone in nearly a month. Dr. Valerie Horsley, Associate Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University, is interested in how the skin regenerates and furthermore, how the cells within tissues work together to promote regeneration. In short, she and her team study how the cells of the skin interact to generate and maintain a functional organ. Dr. Horsley’s research tackles key areas of medicine including aging, wound healing, diabetes, and obesity as she defines how wound healing occurs to try to improve the process over time.

Regeneration is how our bodies are able to maintain themselves for a long period of time; in fact, without regeneration, aging and disease occur. With the strong belief that “dysfunctional tissue maintenance is the basis of disease,” Dr. Horsley is motivated to understand the fundamental biological processes behind skin regeneration in order to make a true impact on health. She and her team of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows work with several other groups at Yale, in addition to experts in other fields. Thus, they are able to merge their lab’s expertise with others to create innovative projects at the forefront of a variety of fields. With a focus on cells that have not been analysed in the skin, such as adipocytes and immune cells, Dr. Horsley and her team provide a novel approach to identifying the remarkable regenerative potential of skin.

Current research includes:

  • Skin Development: Using embryonic stem cells to generate keratinocytes, Dr. Horsley and her team study how the skin develops. Currently, the process used to generate keratinocytes is incredibly inefficient therefore, they are trying to understand the basic principles of how they form in order to generate them more effectively. Her research may help to treat skin diseases or develop therapies, especially for chronic wound treatments.

  • Promoting Hair Growth and Wound Healing: Dr. Valerie Horsley and her team analyze how different cell types in the skin interact to promote hair growth and wound healing. Their research is helping to create a regeneration model for hair follicles that would be revolutionary for patients in need of treatment options, particularly for those with alopecia.

  • Tissue Mechanics: Over a short few month period, pregnant women stomachs expand in what seems to be biologically impossible. In fact, scientists do not fully understand how skin is able to expand. Fundamental questions like this are at the heart of Dr. Horsley’s research on tissue mechanics. When applied, her research investigating how the tension within tissue regulates homeostasis, may contribute to critical findings for certain mutations that cause the skin to be more fragile.

When Dr. Valerie Horsley was twelve years old, she took a life science class that captivated her interests and lit a passion for discovery. Her excitement was so sincere that when beginning her undergraduate career, she had dreams of becoming a medical doctor where she believed she would be able to integrate the excitement of science with helping others. However, after her first few biology courses and interacting with university professors conducting research, Dr. Horsley became convinced that a career as a research scientists was the one for her. Fascinated by how tissues regenerate and maintain themselves through our lifetime, Dr. Horsley now studies tissue regeneration and furthermore, what goes awry during diseases such as cancer. She has found that while the discovery process continues to excite her, learning new aspects about life that will have a true impact on society is what motivates her to continue.

Aside from research, in her free time, Dr. Horsley enjoys spending time with her two young daughters as well as her long-time hobby, swimming. Additionally, Dr. Horsley is exceptionally passionate about promoting women in the sciences; as a female researcher, she tries to engage women to maintain careers in the STEM disciplines.

Website: horsley.yale.edu

Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award, Genetics Society of America

Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE)

Maxine F. Singer ’57 Endowed Assistant Professor

Pew Scholar Award

Blavatnick Award, NY Academy of Sciences