Juan Melero-Martin, PhD
November 1, 2025
Associate Professor
Cardiac Surgery
Boston Children's Hospital | Harvard Medical School
Primary Research:
Our lab studies how blood vessels form and applies this knowledge to regenerative medicine. We investigate the mechanisms of vascular cell differentiation and vessel assembly, with the goal of engineering functional vascular networks for therapeutic use. Current projects focus on generating endothelial and mural cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and developing vascular organoids (VOs) with a built-in vasculature.
We have pioneered approaches using vascular fate-determining transcription factors and mitochondrial transfer to enhance vascular cell function. These strategies are being applied in models of tissue ischemia, pancreatic islet transplantation, and hemophilia A. Looking ahead, our work is advancing vascular cell therapies by exploring both patient-specific and allogeneic VOs as platforms to revascularize ischemic tissues and restore organ function. Ultimately, our research integrates vascular biology, stem cell biology, and bioengineering to create next-generation therapies for vascular repair and regeneration.
Laboratory web site URL: