Lynn Hasenöhrl – Boxem Lab – Utrecht University
Let me start the round of introductions: I am Lynn Hasenöhrl, a MSCA doctoral candidate in Mike Boxem’s group at Utrecht University. By now, all doctoral candidates of the SurfEx MSCA doctoral network have started and the network is in full swing – we had our kick-off meeting in Utrecht last November where we all got some time to get to know each other, and have recently had a second meeting here in the Netherlands where we additionally got to participate in stimulating workshops. With everyone having settled into their new country and labs, we would like to take some time to introduce ourselves and our projects.
I grew up in Zürich, Switzerland and also did most of my education there. I did my Bachelors in Biology at the University of Zürich, and a Masters in Cell Biology at ETH Zürich. While Zürich is in the “flatlands” of Switzerland, somebody decided to put both science campus’ on neighboring hills, so after years of trying to motivate myself to bike uphill to my lectures and work, I jumped at the opportunity to move to the beautiful – and thankfully flat – Utrecht to join the Boxem lab.
In the Boxem lab, I study the C. elegans intestine. Having a functional intestine is important for organisms to be in exchange with their environment. If the intestine does not develop correctly, or cannot be maintained properly, this can have drastic consequences for an organisms ability to absorb nutrients and withstand pathogens. To study the development and maintenance of the intestine, we use the model system C. elegans. The C. elegans intestine is a tubular organ made up by just 20 cells. These epithelial cells are polarized into basolateral and apical domains, with lateral junctions ensuring that there is a tight barrier. The apical side of these cells faces a central lumen and is adorned with microvilli. Both the lumen and microvilli start forming after apicobasal polarity has been established in the embryo, and failure to do so properly can lead to an arrest in development and death. During my PhD, I want to look at how C. elegans intestinal cells go from the establishment of early polarity to an apical domain that can form a lumen and develop and maintain microvilli.
