University of Washington-Seattle Campus · BiochemistryCraniofacial Development and Therapeutics Unit
Hannele Ruohola-Baker · Seattle, Washington
Research Focus
Dr. Hannele Ruohola-Baker's lab at the University of Washington focuses on understanding the genetic factors involved in craniofacial disorders, such as cleft lip and palate, to develop targeted therapies. They use advanced techniques like spatial transcriptomics to study human tissues and induced pluripotent stem cells to model these disorders. This research aims to reveal the complex networks that control the development of the face and improve treatment options for common birth defects.
craniofacial disordersCleft lipCleft palatespatial transcriptomicsinduced pluripotent stem cellsgene regulatory networksoral cavity malformations
Research Aims
4AIM 01Conduct spatial transcriptomics on human fetal tissues to map gene regulatory networks in craniofacial development.
AIM 02Investigate the genetic basis of oral cavity malformations and identify candidate genes.
AIM 03Differentiate engineered iPSCs into relevant oral cell types to study the effect of genetic variants.
AIM 04Utilize single cell RNA-seq to analyze the development of craniofacial tissues and their alterations due to genetic mutations.
Skills the Lab Values
spatial transcriptomicscomputational algorithmsinduced pluripotent stem cell differentiationRNA sequencingcell culturepathogenicity testinggene expression analysis
Output against the department
Publications171top 50% of dept.200th of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations11ktop 44% of dept.175th of 402
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.