Thomas Lozito, PhD

Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine

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Overview

Dr. Thomas Lozito is currently an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC. Dr. Lozito received his Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology at the Graduate Partnership Program University of Cambridge/NIH. His research studies limb and tail regeneration in salamanders and lizards with the long-term goal of developing strategies for improving mammalian regeneration. He is particularly interested in what accounts for divergent regenerative capabilities among vertebrates, and his lab at USC is one of the only labs in the world that studies both lizard and salamander tissue regeneration.

Research Funding

  • Cellular and molecular determinants of amniote regenerative potentials.
    NIH · R35GM158081 · Sep 1, 2025 – Aug 31, 2030 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • Why don?t lizards regenerate perfect tails like salamanders?
    NIH · R01GM115444 · May 1, 2016 – Dec 31, 2025 · Role: Principal Investigator

Publications

  • Single Cell Sequencing Analysis of Lizard Phagocytic Cell Populations and Their Role in Tail Regeneration. J Immunol Regen Med. 2020 Jun; 8.. View in PubMed
  • Efficient in vivo bone formation by BMP-2 engineered human mesenchymal stem cells encapsulated in a projection stereolithographically fabricated hydrogel scaffold. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2019 08 14; 10(1):254.. View in PubMed
  • Differences in neural stem cell identity and differentiation capacity drive divergent regenerative outcomes in lizards and salamanders. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 08 28; 115(35):E8256-E8265.. View in PubMed
  • TISSUE REPAIR AND EPIMORPHIC REGENERATION: AN OVERVIEW. Curr Pathobiol Rep. 2018 Mar; 6(1):61-69.. View in PubMed
  • Cartilage and Muscle Cell Fate and Origins during Lizard Tail Regeneration. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2017; 5:70.. View in PubMed
  • Projection Stereolithographic Fabrication of BMP-2 Gene-activated Matrix for Bone Tissue Engineering. Sci Rep. 2017 09 12; 7(1):11327.. View in PubMed
  • Lizard tail regeneration as an instructive model of enhanced healing capabilities in an adult amniote. Connect Tissue Res. 2017 Mar; 58(2):145-154.. View in PubMed
  • Lizard tail skeletal regeneration combines aspects of fracture healing and blastema-based regeneration. Development. 2016 08 15; 143(16):2946-57.. View in PubMed
  • Catabolic effects of endothelial cell-derived microparticles on disc cells: Implications in intervertebral disc neovascularization and degeneration. J Orthop Res. 2016 08; 34(8):1466-74.. View in PubMed
  • Lizard tail regeneration: regulation of two distinct cartilage regions by Indian hedgehog. Dev Biol. 2015 Mar 15; 399(2):249-62.. View in PubMed