Network
Supervisors
We have enrolled talented scientists from top-level institutions to guide our doctoral candidates. In addition to their academic merits and excellent track records, our supervisors are experienced in guiding PhD students towards successful graduation and a future career in academia or the private sector.
DC1 & DC2 Supervisor with Lukas Kapitein
Utrecht University (Netherlands), Faculty of Science, Department of Biology
Mike Boxem
My team uses a combination of systems biology approaches, systematic experimental manipulation, and live-cell imaging in C. elegans to study how cells polarize, specialize, and become organized into functional tissues.
- DC2 Supervisor with Mike Boxem
Utrecht University (Netherlands), Faculty of Science, Department of Biology
Lukas Kapitein
Our goal is to obtain a physical understanding of the mechanisms by which cells establish and maintain their precise shape and intracellular organization. We focus on the cytoskeleton, a mechanical network of biopolymers and associated proteins that gives the cell its shape and strength.
DC5 and DC9 Supervisor
Université de Rennes (France), Institute Genetics & Development of Rennes (IGDR)
Grégoire Michaux
The intestine performs one of the most essential functions of an animal: food absorption. We investigate three key aspects of the making of an intestine:
i) Dynamics of the absorptive apical membrane
ii) Control of cell proliferation and differentiation
iii) Coordinated intestinal morphogenesis
To answer these questions, we undertake a multiscale approach, from molecules to whole organism, using C. elegans as a model organism and intestinal organoids a mammalian non-animal model. Moreover, our collaborations with physicians allow us to address the clinical relevance of our discoveries. Our main tools are cutting-edge microscopy (Zeiss Airyscan, Random illumination Microscopy, laser nanoablations), and advanced genetic methods (endogenously tagged genes, time-/tissue-specific degrons, gene editing).
DC7 Supervisor
University of Gothenburg (Sweden), Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Thaher Pelaseyed
My team uses a combination of preclinical mouse models, ex vivo imaging and advanced cell biological tools to explore the molecular determinants of the glycocalyx that regulate host-microbe interactions at epithelial surfaces.
- DC4 and DC10 Supervisor
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO), Department of Developmental Biology and Differentiation
Fernando Martín-Belmonte
Our primary scientific interest is understanding intestinal epithelial morphogenesis and polarity during development, homeostasis, and regeneration, along with their implications for human diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and cancer.
The intestinal tract plays a crucial role in development, regeneration, immunity, and nutrition. Despite their relevance, many critical aspects of intestinal development and function remain unexplored. In our laboratory, we take a multidisciplinary approach to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in intestinal morphogenesis, patterning, and metabolism during homeostasis. We utilize organotypic cell models as basic systems and mouse epithelial tissues as more physiological models for our investigations. Additionally, we have initiated a new research line using mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) to address epithelial lumen formation and asymmetric division during development.
- DC11 Supervisor
Queen Mary University of London (UK), Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Materials Science
Martin Knight
I run a multidisciplinary group developing organ-on-a-chip technology and exploring mechanobiology and the role of primary cilia in health and disease.
My research concerns the area of mechanobiology or how living cells and tissues ‘sense and respond’ to mechanical forces. These fundamental biological processes are involved in both health and disease for many tissues. As a result mechanobiology has potential application in various new medical therapies as well as in the development of organ-on-a-chip models for pre-clinical testing. The group are examining the role of mechanobiology and developing organ-chip models for a variety of conditions including ageing, cancer, inflammation, kidney disease, atherosclerosis and arthritis. A particular focus of my research has been understanding the role of primary cilia. Our group published some of the first studies to show how cilia are involved in inflammation and mechanosignalling and are examining the impact of cilia manipulation of cell biology and disease.
I am co-director of the Queen Mary Centre for Predictive in vitro Models, member of the leadership team for the UK Cilia Network and Chair of Council for the BioMedEng Association.
- DC3 Supervisor
Utrecht University (Netherlands), Faculty of Science, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Silvia Mihăilă
Silvia Mihăilă’s group is part of the Utrecht Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Utrecht University. Her group is dedicated to unraveling the complexities of kidney diseases using advanced in vitro models. The focus is on replicating pathological conditions associated with kidney diseases to understand the mechanisms driving disease progression and identify potential targets for drug interventions. The lab also explores the intricate inter-communication between the kidneys and other vital organs, shedding light on the complex pathophysiology of kidney diseases.
DC8 Supervisor
Bac3gel (Portugal)
Daniela Pacheco
Daniela is the Co-Founder and CTO of Bac3Gel, a startup developing and distributing the new generation of substrates to harness the full power of microorganisms. Daniela has experience on different subjects related to biomaterial science and technology, drug delivery, tissue engineering and engineered tissue models for drug screening to recreate in vitro bacterial niches.
- DC6 Supervisor
Uppsala University (Sweden), Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology
Mikael Sellin
The Sellin laboratory aims to explain the stepwise development of gut bacterial infections. In this work, we combine 2- and 3-dimensional organoid models of the intestine (so called enteroids, colonoids) with live-cell imaging on custom-built microscopes, and cutting-edge genetic tools to manipulate the bacteria´s virulence factors. This enables us to tease apart the mechanisms by which invasive gut pathogens, such as Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter attack the intestinal mucosal epithelium, how they spread to deeper tissues, and how the body´s innate immune mechanisms operate to counter the attack.
- DC12 Supervisor
University of Cambridge (UK), The Gurdon Institute
Daniel St Johnston
I am a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Developmental Genetics at the University of Cambridge. My primary research is focused on cell polarity and body axis formation during development using Drosophila and intestinal organoids.
