The focus of my research is to understand the molecular determinants underlying cellular reprogramming and hematopoietic specification. Cellular reprogramming can be achieved experimentally in different ways, including nuclear transfer, cell fusion or expression of transcription factors. The emergent ability to reprogram any human cell into desired hematopoietic cell-types is opening avenues to the discovery of new therapies for immune and blood diseases. The goals of my laboratory are a) to understand at the molecular level how hematopoietic cellular identities are specified employing cellular reprogramming and b) to use this knowledge to manipulate genes and pathways that ultimately may allow the generation of patient-specific hematopoietic cells for regenerative medicine and immunotherapy.