Alice F. Tarantal, Ph.D.

Professor
Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
Davis Campus
530-752-6680
aftarantal@ucdavis.edu

Joint Appointment in Department of Pediatrics

Research Interests

Dr. Tarantal’s research program includes the following areas of translational research:

  • Gene therapy and somatic cell gene editing
  • Stem and progenitor cell therapies / Regenerative Medicine
  • Fetal: Pediatric models of human disease
  • Fetal: maternal microchimerism and precision models
  • In vivo translational imaging applications

Stem/Progenitor cell projects focus on hematopoietic, mesenchymal, endothelial, and pluripotent stem cells for tissue regeneration and repair, transplantation, and tissue engineering.

The Primate Center for Gene Therapy conducts research on crucial questions in gene therapy.

The Translational Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Shared Research Facility is a training and service facility and a component of the UC Davis School of Medicine Stem Cell Program.

Graduate Group Affiliations

See: An updated list of current publications on “PubMed “»

Hordeaux J, Hinderer C, Buza EL, Louboutin JP, Jahan T, Bell P, Chichester JA, Tarantal AF, and Wilson JM. “Safe and sustained expression of human iduronidase after adeno-associated virus 9 intrathecal administration in infant rhesus monkeys“. Human Gene Therapy 2019 doi: 10.1089/hum.2019.012.

Barger N, Keiter J, Kreutz A, Krishnamurthy A, Weidenthaler C, Martínez-Cerdeño V, Tarantal AF, and Noctor SC. “Microglia: An intrinsic component of the proliferative zones in the fetal rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) cerebral cortex“. Cerebral Cortex 2018; doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhy145.

Berg E, Zhang X, Bec J, Judenhofer MS, Patel B, Peng Q, Kapusta M, Schmand M, Casey ME, Tarantal AF, Qi J, Badawi RD, and Cherry SR. “Development and evaluation of miniEXPLORER: A long axial field-of-view PET scanner for nonhuman primate imaging“. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2018 59:993-998.

Tarantal AF, Lee CCI, Martinez ML, Asokan A, and Samulski RJ. “Systemic and persistent muscle gene expression in rhesus monkeys with a liver de-targeted adeno-associated virus vector“. Human Gene Therapy 2017 28:385-391.

Conlon TJ, Mah CS, Pacak CA, Rucker Henninger MB, Erger KE, Jorgensen ML, Lee CC, Tarantal AF, and Byrne BJ. “Transfer of therapeutic genes into fetal rhesus monkeys using recombinant adeno-associated type I viral vectors“. Human Gene Therapy – Clinical Development 2016 27:152-159.

Corti M, Cleaver B Clément N, Conlon TJ, Faris KJ, Wang G, Benson J, Tarantal AF, Fuller D, Herzog RW, and Byrne BJ. “Evaluation of re-administration of a recombinant adeno-associated vector expressing acid alpha-glucosidase (rAAV9-DES-hGAA) in Pompe disease: Preclinical to clinical planning“. Human Gene Therapy – Clinical Development 2015 26:185-193.

Batchelder CA, Martinez ML, and Tarantal AF. “Natural scaffolds for renal differentiation of human embryonic stem cells for kidney tissue engineering“. PLoS One 2015 10:e0143849.

Tai DS, Hu C, Lee CC, Martinez M, Cantero G, Kim EH, Tarantal AF, and Lipshutz GS. “Development of operational immunologic tolerance with neonatal gene transfer in nonhuman primates: preliminary studies“. Gene Therapy 2015 22:923-930.

Tarantal AF, Lee CC, Kukis DL, and Cherry SR. “Radiolabeling human peripheral blood stem cells for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in young rhesus monkeys“. PLoS One 2013 8:e77148.

Tarantal AF and Skarlatos SI. “Center for Fetal Monkey Gene Transfer for Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases: An NHLBI resource for the gene therapy community“. Human Gene Therapy 2012 Nov;23:1130-1135.

Trnka P, Hiatt MJ, Tarantal AF, and Matsell DG. “Congenital urinary tract obstruction: defining markers of developmental kidney injury“. Pediatric Research 2012 Nov;72:446-454.

Tarantal AF, Giannoni F, Lee CCI, Wherley J, Sumiyoshi T, Hollis R, Martinez M, Leapley A, Kahl C, Louie SG, and Kohn DB. “Non-myeloablative conditioning regimen to increase engraftment of gene-modified hematopoietic stem cells in young rhesus monkeys“. Molecular Therapy 2012 May;20:1033-1045.

Shelley WC, Huang L, Critser PJ, Leapley AC, Mead LE, Zeng P, Prater D, Ingram DA, Tarantal AF, and Yoder MC. “Changes in the frequency and in vivo vessel-forming ability of rhesus monkey circulating endothelial colony-forming cells across the lifespan (birth to aged)“. Pediatric Research 2012 Feb;71:156-161.

Tarantal AF, Lee CCI, Batchelder CA, Christensen JE, Martinez ML, Prater D, and Cherry SR. “Radiolabeling and in vivo imaging of transplanted renal lineages differentiated from human embryonic stem cells in fetal monkeys“. Molecular Imaging and Biology 2012 Apr;14:197-204.

Wang L, Bell P, Lin J, Calcedo R, Tarantal AF, and Wilson JM. “AAV8-mediated hepatic gene transfer in infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)“. Molecular Therapy 2011 Nov;19:2012-2020.

Nakayama KH, Batchelder CA, Lee CCI, and Tarantal AF. “Renal tissue engineering with decellularized rhesus monkey kidneys: Age-related differences“. Tissue Engineering Part A 2011 Dec;17:2891-2901.

Nakayama KH, Batchelder CA, Lee CCI, and Tarantal AF. “Decellularized rhesus monkey kidney as a three-dimensional scaffold for renal tissue engineering“. Tissue Engineering Part A 2010 Jul;16:2207-2216.

Ivanova L, Hiatt MJ, Yoder MC, Tarantal AF, and Matsell DG. “Ontogeny of CD24 in the human kidney“. Kidney International 2010 Jun;77:1123-1131.

Batchelder CA, Lee CCI, Martinez ML, and Tarantal AF. “Ontogeny of the kidney and renal development in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta)“. Anatomical Record 2010 Nov;293:1971-1983.

Nakayama KH, Batchelder CA, Lee CCI, and Tarantal AF. “Decellularized rhesus monkey kidney as a three-dimensional scaffold for renal tissue engineering“. Tissue Engineering 2010 Jul;16:2207-2216.

Lee CCI, Christensen J, Yoder MC, and Tarantal AF. “Clonal analysis and hierarchy of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem and progenitor cells“. Experimental Hematology 2010 Jan;38:46-54.

Tarantal AF and Lee CCI. “Long-term luciferase expression monitored by bioluminescence imaging after AAV-mediated fetal gene delivery in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)“. Human Gene Therapy 2010 Feb;21:143-148. (Cover and Commentary)

Batchelder CA, Lee CCI, Matsell DG, Yoder MC, and Tarantal AF. “Renal ontogeny in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) and directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells towards kidney precursors“. Differentiation 2009 Jul;78:45-56. (Cover)

Tarantal AF, Lee CCI, and Itkin-Ansari P. “Real-time bioluminescence imaging of macroencapsulated fibroblasts reveal allograft protection in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)“. Transplantation 2009 Jul 15;88:38-41.

Huang J, Lee CCI, Sutcliffe JL, Cherry SR, and Tarantal AF. “Radiolabeling rhesus monkey CD34+ hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells with 64Cu-PTSM for microPET“. Molecular Imaging 2008 Jan-Feb;7:1-11.

Hacia JG, Lee CC, Jimenez DF, Karaman MW, Ho VV, Siegmund KD, and Tarantal AF. “Age-related gene expression profiles of rhesus monkey bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells“. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 2008 Mar 1;103:1198-1210.

Butt MJ, Tarantal AF, Jimenez DF, and Matsell DG. “Collecting duct epithelial-mesenchymal transition in fetal urinary tract obstruction“. Kidney International 2007 Oct;72:936-944. (Cover)

  • CHA400, Development, Gross and Radiographic Anatomy
  • CLH220, Basics of Stem and Progenitor Cells
  • CLH221, Literature in Stem Cell Biology
  • Director, UC Davis Translational Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Shared Research Facility (TSRF)
  • 2004/05 School of Medicine Faculty Award
  • National Institutes of Health
  • California Institute for Regenerative Medicine