SCHEDL

Organ development is a highly complex process that requires the orchestrated action of transcription factors and signalling pathways. Once an organ has formed it needs to be maintained to ensure proper functioning throughout the entire life. To achieve this feat, many organs employ stem cells that can be activated to renew the damaged organ.  Past research has demonstrated that development and tissue maintenance are highly interrelated and molecular programs driving development and differentiation are also triggered when stem cells become activated to replace damaged or lost cells. Focusing on the kidney and adrenal glands, our research program aims at understanding the transcriptional control underlying tissue development, define stem/progenitor cells in the adult organism and determine the signalling pathways that are involved in their maintenance and activation.

Kidneys are central cardiovascular organs that ensure blood filtration and - together with the adrenals - control blood pressure, pH and electrolyte concentration. Kidney diseases are on the rise and it is expected that as many as 1 in 10 people will suffer from renal disease at some stage during their life. Moreover, defective blood pressure control leads to hypertension, the foremost cause of death worldwide. Given the high incidence of these diseases, new therapeutic approaches are urgently required. A vision for the future is to employ regenerative medicine that would permit the growth of new organs from a patient’s own cells. To achieve this goal an in depth knowledge of how kidneys and adrenals form and how they are maintainted is required. In our lab, we are concentrating on three main topics:  1) We address how proliferation of renal stem cells is regulated and identify molecular networks directing their differentiation into functional nephrons. 2) We study podocytes, a key component of the renal filtration barrier, and address how differentiation and maintenance of this unique cell type is achieved. 3) We identify the molecular pathways required for adrenal cortex specification and maintenance. To achieve our goals we employ state of the art genetic (inducible knockouts, CRISPR/Cas9, lineage tracing, organoids) and molecular techniques (ChIP-Seq, scRNA-Seq) and analyze gene function in vitro and in vivo.