Dr. Nagarajan Kannan is a stem cell and cancer biologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he directs the Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Laboratory. His research addresses a fundamental question in human biology: how do cells acquire, maintain, and relinquish developmental potential – from the earliest embryonic divisions through adult tissue stem and progenitor cell maintenance, regeneration, aging, and cancer? Dr. Kannan has developed human tissue, organoid, single-cell, and functional platforms to study how stem and progenitor cells maintain their numbers, generate specialized progeny, and respond to genetic, hormonal, developmental, and environmental influences. His work spans multiple epithelial tissues and has established distinctive living biobanks representing hundreds of patients. His research extends from recent discoveries linking the dynamics of an embryo’s first divisions with its subsequent developmental fitness to defining the cellular origins and earliest events underlying breast and ovarian cancers. His studies also address consequential questions in human development and reproductive health, and seek to translate fundamental stem cell biology toward cancer prevention and regenerative medicine. He contributes broadly to the international scientific community through academic and research appointments, scientific peer review, mentorship, and cross-continental collaborations.