Dr. Thomas Rando is a Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine. In addition, he is the Director, Glenn Laboratories for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University, and the Deputy Director, Stanford Center on Longevity, also at Stanford University. He serves as the Chief of Service, Neurology Service, and the Director, RR&D Center of Excellence, both at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Dr. Rando earned his MD and PhD from Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, respectively. He did his internship at Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and his residency with the Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, where he became chief resident. He then did a research fellowship with the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University. Dr. Rando is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Neurological Association, and the International Society for Stem Cell Research. The main areas of interest of the Rando Laboratory are muscle stem cell biology (myogenic lineage progression, cell fate determination, asymmetric cell divisions, Notch signaling, Wnt signaling), muscle stem cell aging (epigenetic determinants, local and systemic influences, roles in age-related decline in regeneration and age-related atrophy), muscular dystrophies (disease pathogenesis, biomarkers, and non-invasive imaging), tissue engineering (artificial scaffolds, regenerative therapies), and basic muscle cell biology (myogenic differentiation, muscle development). Selected Publications: 1: Quarta M, Brett JO, DiMarco R, De Morree A, Boutet SC, Chacon R, Gibbons MC, Garcia VA, Su J, Shrager JB, Heilshorn S, Rando TA. An artificial niche preserves the quiescence of muscle stem cells and enhances their therapeutic efficacy. Nat Biotechnol. 2016 Jul;34(7):752-9. 2: Goodell MA, Rando TA. Stem cells and healthy aging. Science. 2015 Dec 4;350(6265):1199-204. 3: Bursac N, Juhas M, Rando TA. Synergizing Engineering and Biology to Treat and Model Skeletal Muscle Injury and Disease. Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2015;17:217-42. 4: Liu L, Cheung TH, Charville GW, Rando TA. Isolation of skeletal muscle stem cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Nat Protoc. 2015 5: Brett JO, Rando TA. Alive and well? Exploring disease by studying lifespan. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2014 Jun;26:33-40. 6: Rodgers JT, King KY, Brett JO, Cromie MJ, Charville GW, Maguire KK, Brunson C, Mastey N, Liu L, Tsai CR, Goodell MA, Rando TA. mTORC1 controls the adaptive transition of quiescent stem cells from G0 to G(Alert). Nature. 2014 Jun 19;510(7505):393-6. 7: Rando TA. Regenerative medicine: Of fish and men. Nat Chem Biol. 2014 Feb;10(2):91-2. 8: Rando TA, Finkel T. Cardiac aging and rejuvenation--a sense of humors? N Engl J Med. 2013 Aug 8;369(6):575-6. 9: Charville GW, Rando TA. A sexy spin on nonrandom chromosome segregation. Cell Stem Cell. 2013 Jun 6;12(6):641-3. 10: Cheung TH, Rando TA. Molecular regulation of stem cell quiescence. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2013 Jun;14(6):329-40. 11: Maguire KK, Lim L, Speedy S, Rando TA. Assessment of disease activity in muscular dystrophies by noninvasive imaging. J Clin Invest. 2013 May;123(5):2298-305. 12: Rando TA. The ins and outs of aging and longevity. Annu Rev Physiol. 2013;75:617-9. 13: Mueller AA, Cheung TH, Rando TA. All's well that ends well: alternative polyadenylation and its implications for stem cell biology. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2013 Apr;25(2):222-32. 14: Brack AS, Rando TA. Tissue-specific stem cells: lessons from the skeletal muscle satellite cell. Cell Stem Cell. 2012 May 4;10(5):504-14. 15: Boutet SC, Cheung TH, Quach NL, Liu L, Prescott SL, Edalati A, Iori K, Rando TA. Alternative polyadenylation mediates microRNA regulation of muscle stem cell function. Cell Stem Cell. 2012 Mar 2;10(3):327-36. 16: Cheung TH, Quach NL, Charville GW, Liu L, Park L, Edalati A, Yoo B, Hoang P, Rando TA. Maintenance of muscle stem-cell quiescence by microRNA-489. Nature. 2012 Feb 23;482(7386):524-8. 17: Rando TA, Chang HY. Aging, rejuvenation, and epigenetic reprogramming: resetting the aging clock. Cell. 2012 Jan 20;148(1-2):46-57. 18: Boutet SC, Biressi S, Iori K, Natu V, Rando TA. Taf1 regulates Pax3 protein by monoubiquitination in skeletal muscle progenitors. Mol Cell. 2010 Dec 10;40(5):749-61. 19: Biressi S, Rando TA. Heterogeneity in the muscle satellite cell population. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2010 Oct;21(8):845-54. 20: Rando TA. Turning back time: reversing tissue pathology to enhance stem cell engraftment. Cell Stem Cell. 2008 Sep 11;3(3):232-4. 21: Brack AS, Conboy IM, Conboy MJ, Shen J, Rando TA. A temporal switch from notch to Wnt signaling in muscle stem cells is necessary for normal adult myogenesis. Cell Stem Cell. 2008 Jan 10;2(1):50-9. 22: Brack AS, Conboy MJ, Roy S, Lee M, Kuo CJ, Keller C, Rando TA. Increased Wnt signaling during aging alters muscle stem cell fate and increases fibrosis. Science. 2007 Aug 10;317(5839):807-10. 23: Boutet SC, Disatnik MH, Chan LS, Iori K, Rando TA. Regulation of Pax3 by proteasomal degradation of monoubiquitinated protein in skeletal muscle progenitors. Cell. 2007 Jul 27;130(2):349-62. 24: Rando TA. The immortal strand hypothesis: segregation and reconstruction. Cell. 2007 Jun 29;129(7):1239-43. Review. 25: Conboy IM, Conboy MJ, Wagers AJ, Girma ER, Weissman IL, Rando TA. Rejuvenation of aged progenitor cells by exposure to a young systemic environment. Nature. 2005 Feb 17;433(7027):760-4. 26: Sherwood RI, Christensen JL, Conboy IM, Conboy MJ, Rando TA, Weissman IL, Wagers AJ. Isolation of adult mouse myogenic progenitors: functional heterogeneity of cells within and engrafting skeletal muscle. Cell. 2004 Nov 12;119(4):543-54. 27: Conboy IM, Conboy MJ, Smythe GM, Rando TA. Notch-mediated restoration of regenerative potential to aged muscle. Science. 2003 Nov 28;302(5650):1575-7. 28: Conboy IM, Rando TA. The regulation of Notch signaling controls satellite cell activation and cell fate determination in postnatal myogenesis. Dev Cell. 2002 Sep;3(3):397-409.