Thesis (Ph. D.)--Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. / Robert McKeon, Committee Member ; Robert Lee, Committee Member ; Robert Guldberg, Committee Member ; Ravi Bellamkonda, Committee Member ; Michelle LaPlaca, Committee Chair. Vita.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2008. / Title from web page (viewed on July 14, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, December 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-177).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-326). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-72).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-229).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-89).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Florida, 2005. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 97 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

<p>In this thesis project housekeeping genes in differentiating human embryonic stem cells were investigated. Housekeeping genes are involved in basic functions in the cells and are assumed to be expressed at relatively constant levels across different cell types and experimental conditions. Based on these features, housekeeping genes are frequently used as controls in calibration of gene expression data. Commonly used housekeeping genes in somatic tissues have shown to vary notably in human embryonic stem cells and are therefore inappropriate as reference genes in this unique cell type. In the present work a novel set of gene expression data obtained by profiling of undifferentiated and early differentiating cardiac cells, was analyzed. Stably expressed genes were identified in this data set and were subsequently intersected with a previously proposed set of 292 stable genes in human embryonic stem cells. A resulting set of 73 genes show stability across all investigated cell lines and experimental conditions. These genes are suggested as a more reliable set of reference genes in differentiating human embryonic stem cells than frequently used housekeeping genes in somatic tissue. In addition, a novel set of 20 genes was identified as very stably expressed during the differentiation towards the cardiac lineage. After further validation of stability with RT-PCR, these genes could be useful as controls in studies of human embryonic stem cells that differentiate towards the cardiac lineage.</p>