Stephanie Grainger

Stephanie Grainger, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Van Andel Institute (VAI). Her research focuses on understanding how Wnt signaling regulates stem cell development and its role in cancer, particularly through the Wnt9a pathway. She leads the Grainger Lab, which investigates hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) development using zebrafish models.

Dr. Grainger earned her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego. Before joining VAI in 2021, she was an Assistant Professor at San Diego State University.

Her work has revealed critical mechanisms of Wnt9a signaling specificity in HSC development, including the role of EGFR in mediating these signals. In 2021, she was awarded a $2.4M Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award to further investigate cellular communication in development and disease.

Lab members include postdoctoral fellows (Kelsey Carpenter, Mohamed Elaswad, Amber Ide), research technicians, and guest Ph.D. students such as Elizabeth VanSickle. Alumni include Sofia Lopez, Nikki Nguyen, and others who contributed to projects on hematopoietic stem cell biology and zebrafish models.

Key research themes include Wnt signaling specificity, HSC amplification in the aorta, and leveraging zebrafish to study cancer initiation. Recent publications highlight discoveries in EGFR-dependent Wnt9a signaling and its implications for hematopoiesis.