StemCells@Lunch Digested

In this episode, Ina Sonnen, a researcher at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands, is interviewed by Postdocoral researcher JF Darrigrand. Ina explains which are the big questions studied in her lab, notably how cells can communicate not only via the nature of signals they exchange but also through the dynamics of these signlas. She shares how advances in microscopy, microfluidics and cell culture are helping researchers to make more and more discoveries. Having recently founded her lab, she tells us more about what she found was either challenging or rewarding in her new role. Lastly, she insists on why she thinks being a scientist is a good job when you want to start a family. To find out more about Ina's research, check out the following links: https://www.sonnenlab.org

In today's episode, Prof. Andrew Ewald, Director of the Cell Biology Department at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is interviewed by Inês Tomás. Prof Ewald explains how he transitionned from a background in physics to the field of cancer biology. He touches upon why cancer is such a specific type of disease, how cancer cells talk to each other during metastasis, and how their interaction with immune cells is crucial for disease development. Prof Ewald also discusses the evolution of the tools available for cancer biologists and how the emergence of new technologies are changing the field. Lastly, he shares some inspiring mentoring advice on how to reach an interdisciplinary and rewarding career.

In today's episode, Dr. William Roman, a research associate at Stanford University, is interviewed by Dr. Davide Danovi. William explains how he is combining live cell imaging and quantitative approaches to answer fundamental questions in muscle biology. He shares some inspiring mentoring advice on how to let students use their PhDs as platforms to express themselves throught their science and discover what type of science they like, both in terms of subject and technique.

In today's episode, Shalev Itzkovitz, a professor at the Weizman Institute, Israel, is interviewed by Postdocoral researcher Georgina Goss. Shalev shares the discoveries of his lab on the design principles that shape and maintain metabolic organs such as the intestine and the liver. He explains the very advanced techniques used in modern biology, and more specifically in his lab, to address such fundamental questions. Having started his education in mechanical engineering, he discusses what motivated him to transition to the resolution of biological questions and how resolving these questions is somewhat similar to retro-engineering. Lastly, he touches upon what fascinates him in studying the biology of metabolic organs. To find out more about Shalev's research, check out the following links: https://shalevlab.weizmann.ac.il

In today's episode, Prof Xin Chen, a group leader at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, is interviewed by PhD student Daria Belokhvostova. Xin takes us into the world of germline stem cell epigenetics and how its regulation can influence the ability of these cells to divide asymmetrically. She shares her passion for the biology of germ cells and explains why the fruit fly Drosophila is such a good system for her studies. Xin talks about how scientific collaborations are helping to expand her findings to different biological systems. Finally, she tells us about the challenges of keeping the lab running through pandemic times and the joy of seeing in-person interactions come back. To find out more about Xin's research, check out the following link: https://bio.jhu.edu/directory/xin-chen/

In today's episode, Dr Allison Bardin, a group leader at Institut Curie, is interviewed by PhD student Vassia Salameti. Allison talks about how she got interested in asymmetric cell division while working on budding yeast, followed by her work on fly as a postdoc that derived her into the field to study cell fate acquisitions and stem cell biology. She shared the details about how Drosophila is excellent model to study various genetic alterations and cost effective. Allison further emphasised on the importance of fundamental research and how that could lead to interesting discoveries that could be further translated into clinics. Finally, she talks about importance of collaboration as well as importing expertise in lab along with some interesting advice for PhDs who plan to pursue academic career. To find out more about Allison's research, check out the following link: https://science.institut-curie.org/research/biology-cancer-genetics-and-epigenetics/developmental-biology-and-genetics/team-bardin/

In today's episode, Prof Yukiko Yamashita, a group leader at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT, is interviewed by PhD student Joshua Reeves. Yukiko talks about how her lab got interested in understanding the possible mechanism of non siter chromatid segregation in germline cells. She talks about how they started looking at the interesting mechanisms regulating the immortality of germlines cells in Drosophila. Yukiko also shares her opinion regarding Junk DNA and how it might not all be junk like noncoding RNAs. Lastly, she shares her advice to be learner for rest of life and get used to stepping outside comfort zone. And to become comfortable not being expert all the time. To find out more about Yukiko's research, check out the following link: https://yamashitalab.wi.mit.edu/

In today's episode, Prof Ludo Van Den Bosch a group leader at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, is interviewed by PhD student Abigail Isaacson. Ludo talks about his labs goal and how they use different model systems to understand disease as good as possible with goal to develop therapies. He also highlighted the importance of using different models from fruit fly, zebrafish to mice depending on context and questions. Ludo also emphasized about obstacles in managing ALS along with advancement in past 25yrs and how iPSCs have made big difference and given new insights for understanding diseases. Ludo shared his experience as being a scientist and how much he enjoy interaction with young people and other fellow colleagues. To find out more about Ludo's research, check out the following link: https://cbd.vib.be/labs/van-den-bosch-lab

In today's episode, Prof Elena Ezhkova, a group leader at Icahn School of Medicine, is interviewed by PhD student Vassia Salameti. Elena talks about the potential of stem cells in therapy and how her interest developed towards understanding the role of epigenetic regulators in stem cell reprogramming. She shares about how companies are getting interested in small molecular drugs that target epigenetic regulators which could be used as personalized therapy. Elena also emphasizes the importance of clinical collaboration and highlights how important it is to get the inputs from clinicians at the beginning of project to get better understanding of the disease. Lastly, she shares her advice for PhDs to find the research direction of interest and not be afraid things will work out!!! To find out more about Elena's research, check out the following link: https://www.ezhkova-lab.com/

In today's episode, Prof Filipe Pereira, a professor at Lund University, Sweden, is interviewed by postdocoral researcher Jean-Francois Darrigrand. Filipe shares how he started his career in the fields of stem cells reprogramming and immunotherapy, as well as his experience working in the US and different european countries. Filipe also discusses about how he balances his activities of leader of an academic group and of a biotech company. Lastly, he explains why mentoring is a fantastic source of motivation for him. To find out more about Filipe's research, check out the following link: https://pereiralab.com/team/carlos-filipe-pereira/

In today's episode, Prof Denis Duboule, a professor of developmental biology at EPFL and Univeristy of Geneva is interviewed by PhD student Abigail Isaacson. Denis talks about how his first interest for mushrooms initiated his whole career in biology. He shares with us his fascination for the encoding of time in the genome, which ensures the proper development of embryos. Denis also talks about how priotities change during the life of a laboratory head, shifting from publishing to seeing your lab members grow and succeed on their own. To find out more about Denis' research, check out the following link: https://genev.unige.ch/research/laboratory/Denis-Duboule

In today's episode, Prof Dagmar Iber, a professor at ETH, Zurich, is interviewed by PhD student Vasiliki Salameti. Dagmar talks about the similarity between investment banking and academia . She describes her interest in modelling organogenesis and patterning systems. She discusses the importance of collaboration. She also advised students to take risk and initiative to try to do things they want to. As a university professor, she shared how she enjoyed the scientific journey in finding things out, but also teaching and seeing students grow. To find out more about Dagmar's research, check out the following links: https://www.bsse.ethz.ch/cobi https://bsse.ethz.ch/cobi/group/people/person-detail.MTQ5NDI0.TGlzdC8yMjA0LC0xMDM3ODQxNDk3.html

In today's episode, Dr Vikas Trivedi, a group leader at EMBL Barcelona, is interviewed by PhD student Prudence Lui. Vikas talks about his scientific journey and his research on using embryonic organoids to study self-organisation of cells. He describes the challenge in this field to use interdisciplinary approaches to study complex biological phenomena. He discusses the benefits of developing broad multidisciplinary expertise at the lab. As a group leader in science, he finds problem solving, working with intelligent people and contributing to other people's career very rewarding. We also get to learn about Vikas's interests beyond the lab. To find out more about Vikas's research, check out the following link: https://www.embl.org/groups/trivedi/

In today's episode, Dr Emma Rawlins, a senior group leader at the Gurdon Institute in University of Cambridge. She is interviewed by PhD student Elena Drudi. Emma talks about her research on stem cells in mammalian lungs using both mouse and human organoid models. She discusses the pros and cons of the two models. She describes her research interest in understanding normal embryonic lung development, with the aim to further repurpose these cues for lung repair/regeneration in adults. She emphasises how functional human genetics on a population level, in combination with human organoids models, can further help dissecting diseases susceptibility and regeneration. She also shares her journey from studying drosophila to human lung biology, and how going aboard no longer seems to be a necessity to continue one's career. To learn more about Emma's recent postdoc work, check out the following links: https://www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/research/rawlins

In today's episode, Dr Vanessa Ribes, a group leader at Jacques Monod Institute, Paris, is interviewed by PhD student Victoria Tsang. Vanessa talks about her research on embryonic development of the spinal cord, its transcriptional regulation, the pathology of related congenital diseases, as well as cancers. She describes her long-time passion for biology and how she went from marine biology to agriculture to her current research. She discusses how meeting patients motivated and influenced her work. She shares her favourite aspects of being a scientist and her future focuses. She emphasises the importance of pleasure in pursuing a scientific career. To find out more about Vanessa's research, check out the following link: https://www.ijm.fr/en/864/research-groups/transcriptional-networks.htm

In today's episode, Dr Carla Mulas, a postdoc in Stem Cell Institue at Cambridge University, is interviewed by PhD student Haneen Alsehi. Carla talks about her amazing research using biophysics to understand cell state transition. She discusses her journey in transiting from a biochemistry background to studying stem cells and their fate commitment, and her keen interest in how stem cells change their properties during differentiation. She talks about the challenge of the current cell state transition field in the need to go beyond mapping cell states and cell identities. She also shares her career insights in identifying what one wants to learn and the necessity of a good mentor. To find out more about Kristina's research, check out the following link: https://sites.google.com/view/cmulasresearch

In today's episode, Dr Kristina Haase, a group leader at EMBL Barcelona, is interviewed by PhD student Prudence Lui. Kristina talks about her amazing research on bioengineered vascular networks and what kept her motivated to work on this for years. She discusses some challenges to be considered when generating advanced vascularised experiment models. She shares her fruitful experience of doing research across continents and in different areas. She emphasises the importance of having a clear biological question when doing science. We will also learn something about Kristina outside of the lab! To find out more about Kristina's research, check out the following link: https://www.embl.es/research/unit/haase/index.html

On today’s episode, Dr Dominika Dziedzicka, a postdoc working with Prof Ludovic Vallier from MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. She is interviewed by Daria Belokhvostova, a PhD student in Centre of Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine in King’s College London. Dominika talks about her PhD and recent postdoc work on human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. She discusses the differences between differentiation propensity and differentiation potential of stem cells. To learn more about Dominika’s recent postdoc work, check out the following links: https://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/people/pi/vallier

In today’s episode, Ieva Berzanskyte, our own graduating PhD student at the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London, is interviewed by PhD student Inês Tomás. Ieva talks about her exciting work on growing stem cells from patient tissues, then turning them into neurons to find a cure for spinal cord injury. She shares her thoughts on how the neuroscience field can speed up the discovery and translation of therapies into clinics. Following her deep interest in advancing biotechnologies, she discusses her upcoming post-doctoral research on the direct conversion between different cell types and its application. To find out more about Ieva’s experience check out the following link: https://www.regenerativemedicinephd.co.uk/student-profiles/ieva-berzanskyte

On today’s episode, Prof Michael Levin, a renowned regenerative and developmental biologist of Tufts University and Wyss Institute at Harvard University, is interviewed by Dr Davide Danovi, a group leader in Centre of Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine in King’s College London. Mike talks about his multi-disciplinary work in decoding bioelectrical signals of cells, in particularly how information is stored, processed and used for functions within the biological system. He discusses how this biological knowledge can give rise to applications in machine learning and artificial intelligence. He also shares his view on ways to communicate across different disciplines, and how to be equipped for a multi-disciplinary mindset and skillsets. To learn more about Mike’s work, check out the following links: https://wyss.harvard.edu/team/associate-faculty/michael-levin-ph-d/ and https://ase.tufts.edu/biology/labs/levin

In today’s episode, Prof Ana Pombo, group leader at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, is interviewed by PhD student Vasiliki Salameti. Ana talks about her pioneering work that enabled scientists to dissect how the genome is packaged inside cells and how this method is evolving with new single-cell technologies. She shares her view on future technology development which should help us make predictions. She discusses collaboration in science and the importance of timing in making research decisions. To learn more about Ana’s work check out the following link: https://www.mdc-berlin.de/pombo

On today’s episode, Dr Nicolas Rivron, group leader at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Austrian Academy of Science, is interviewed by PhD student Sergi Junyent Espinosa. Nicolas discusses his research building stem-cell based embryo models. He talks about the self-organising nature of tissue development in the embryo and how this can help us understand key principles of regeneration. For more information on Nicolas’ work check out the following link: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/imba/research/nicolas-rivron

On today’s episode, Dr Vivian Li, group leader of the Stem Cell and Cancer Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, is interviewed by PhD student Elena Drudi. Vivian talks about her background in plant biotechnology, colon cancer research and working in Hans Clevers lab and her current research focus using human gut organoids to ask how stem cells are maintained in healthy guts, what happens when it goes wrong, and the Wnt signalling pathway’s role in this. She also talks about the future of engineering parts of the bowel to replace damaged and missing bowel. For more information on Vivian’s work check out the following link: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/labs/vivian-li

In today’s episode, Dr Derk ten Berge, an Associate Professor in the department of Cell Biology at Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, is interviewed by PhD student Daria Belokhvostova. Derk discusses his research on embryonic development and pluritpotency (the ability of a stem cell to make all the cells of the embryo) and the mechanisms of how cells become pluripotent. He talks about an intermediate stage of embryonic development called rosette stem cells. He considers about how his lab is dealing with the impact of Covid.

Ana-Maria Cujba, a PhD student at the Centre for Stem Cell's and Regenerative Medicine at King's College London, is interviewed by PhD student Ella Hubber. Ana-Maria discusses her work using human induced pluripotent stem cells and pancreatic organoids to study a new mechanism in mature onset diabetes of the young (MODY). She dives into the development of pancreatic organoids and making a more physiologically relevant system. She also discusses publishing her work as a PhD student and transitioning from a PhD to a post-doc. To learn more about Ana-Maria's work, check out the following links: https://www.regenerativemedicinephd.co.uk/student-profiles/ana-maria-cujba https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3917-6751

Professor Muzlifah Haniffa, Professor of Dermatology and Immunology at Newcastle University, is interviewed by researcher Dr Clarisse Ganier. Muzz talks about her pioneering work in the fields of dermatology, immunology and genomics. She discusses her involvement in the human cell atlas, that aims to map all the cells of the human body. Muzz also speaks about the importance of public engagement in research science. To learn more about Muzz's work visit the following link: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/people/profile/mahaniffa.html

Prof Francesco Saverio Tedesco, Professor of Neuromuscular Biology and Regenerative Medicine at University College London, is interviewed by researcher Dr Davide Danovi. Francesco talks about his work using stem cells to understand and develop new therapies for muscular diseases such as muscular dystrophy. He speaks about the balance between his professions as a clinician and a scientist, and how this supports the translational goal of his research. To learn more about Francesco 's work visit the following link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/people/saverio-tedesco P.S. check out our new logo, designed by PhD student Matt Chung!

Dr Madeline Lancaster, Group Leader at the Cell Biology Division of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, is interviewed by PhD student Ella Hubber. Madeline talks about the chance discovery and ongoing development of cerebral organoids and their use in studying human brain development and size differences between human and non-human apes. She also touches on the importance of engaging with the public as a scientist. To learn more about Madeline's work visit the following link: https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/groups/lancaster/

On today’s episode, Dr Jürgen Knoblich, scientific director at the Institute of Molecular Biology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, is interviewd by PhD student Sergi Junyen. Jürgen talks about his research journey to studying brains, the benefits of using fruit flies (Drosophila) in research, and the development and future of cerebral organoids, including their use in genetic screening. To find out more about Jürgen’s research follow this link: https://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at/research/juergen-knoblich/team/

Randolph Ashton, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, is interviewed by PhD student Ieva Berzanskyte. Randolph discusses his research engineering novel materials and methodologies to direct stem cell behaviour in a reproducible and scalable manner. He talks about how harnessing the natural ability of cells to differentiate can be used to develop models and scaffolds for regenerative medicine. To find out more about Randolph’s work please visit the following website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/bme/Faculty/Ashton_Randolph/

Today Ron Weiss, Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering and in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Director of the Synthetic Biology Center at MIT, is interviewed by PhD student Matt Chung. Ron is a pioneer in the field of synthetic biology, using computer engineering principles to program cells to be controlled by analog and digital logic circuitry. He discusses how synthetic biology can be translated into clinical benefit for a wide range of diseases, including cancer. He talks about the challenges of building reliable networks that are robust to environmental change, a key challenge in the clinical translation of synthetic biology approaches. To find out more about Ron’s work please visit the following website: https://weiss-lab.mit.edu/

Today, Professor Manuel Serrano from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona is interviewed by PhD student Emily Read. Manuel has produced seminal work in the fields of tumour suppression, senescence, ageing and reprogramming. In this episode he talks about the link between senescence and regeneration, and how this can become disrupted in disease and ageing. He discusses how targeting senescent cells can prolong lifespan and reflects on the impactions of this on wider society. To find out more about Manuel’s work please visit the following website: https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/profile/manuel-serrano

Today, Professor Matthias Lütolf, Head of the Laboratory of Stem Cell Bioengineering at The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is interviewed by PhD student Emily Read. Matthais talks about how scientists can begin to build human diseases in a dish using organoid technologies. He discusses the importance of understanding how physical factors can influence stem cell behaviour and how this can be studied with engineering approaches. To find out more about Matthias’ work please visit the following website: https://people.epfl.ch/matthias.lutolf/bio?lang=en

Today, Professor Kevin Eggan from the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, is interviewed by PhD student Peter Harley. Kevin talks about the difficulties of studying neurodegenerative disorders and applying stem cell technologies to study motor neuron disease/ALS. He discusses why highlighting and understanding contradictory findings is an essential part of scientific research and the reliability of using mouse models to study ALS. To find out more about Kevin’s work please visit the following website: https://hsci.harvard.edu/people/kevin-c-eggan-phd

Prof Salvador Aznar Benitah, ICREA Research Professor at Institut de Recerca Biomèdica, is interviewed by PhD student Victoria Tsang. Salvador talks about his research understanding the molecular pathways that dictate stem cell behaviour, including his recent work on the role of dietary fats, and how this goes wrong in cancer. He talks about recent advances in the field of oncology and the challenges they pose to clinical translation. For more information on Salvador's research follow this link: https://www.icrea.cat/Web/ScientificStaff/salvador-aznar-benitah-408

Professor Alfonso Martinez Arias, professor of developmental mechanics in the department of genetics at the University of Cambridge, is interviewed by PhD student Alice Vickers. Alfonso discusses the applications, ethical considerations, legislation, and difficulties of progressing his research using embryonic stem cells as a model system for studying human development. He also looks back at the experiences and experiments that hooked him on answering the vital question of how a single cell becomes a whole organism. For more information on Alfonso's research follow this link: https://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/directory/alfonso-martinez-arias

Professor Xavier Trepat, ICREA Research Professor at Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya, is interviewed by PhD student Sebastiaan Zijl. Xavier talks about his work understanding how physical forces impact how cells grow, move and behave. He discusses the coolest experiment he has ever done and how lockdown has unexpectedly benefited his lab. For more information on Xavier's research follow this link: https://www.icrea.cat/Web/ScientificStaff/xavier-trepat-534

Professor Peter Zandstra, Director of the Michael Smith Laboratories at The University of British Columbia, is interviewed by Group Leader Dr Davide Danovi. Peter talks about his work understanding blood development from stem cells and how this can be used improve therapeutics for diseases such as leukaemia. He discusses his beginnings as a chemical engineer and how this has shaped his career path. For more information on Peter's research follow this link: https://www.msl.ubc.ca/people/dr-peter-zandstra/

Dr William Grey, a post doctoral researcher in the Haematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, is interviewed by PhD student Jana Obajdin. William talks about using umbilical cord blood in the treatment of genetic disorders and the future of cancer therapies. He also tells us why the study of proteins is an exciting and expanding field, particularity in cancer research. For more information on William's research follow this link: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/find-a-researcher/william-grey Donate your umbilical cord blood with Anthony Nolan: https://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-umbilical-cord

Prof James Briscoe, group leader of the Developmental Dynamics Lab at the Francis Crick Institute, is interviewed by PhD student Ieva Berzanskyte. James talks about his research into the developing spinal cord and thinks about what is currently fascinating him, including understanding the "tempo" of embryonic development. For more information on James' research follow this link: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/labs/james-briscoe

Prof Janet Rossant, Senior Scientist on the Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program, Chief of Research Emeritus at the SickKids Research Institute, President and Scientific Director of the Gairdner Foundation and Professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics and Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of Toronto, is interviewed by PhD student Geraldine Jowett. Janet discusses her work characterising embryonic development and applying this to generate stem cell models. She talks about the importance of the terminology and language used surrounding embryo research, as well as how her lab is contributing to the COVID response. For more information on Janet's research follow this link: https://lab.research.sickkids.ca/rossant/

"It’s a mindset." Prof Olivier Pourquié, Professor of Pathology and Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, is interviewed by PhD student Ella Hubber. Olivier breaks down how spinal vertebrae are formed in the embryo through a “segmentation clock” and how understanding this is relevant to human disease. He also talks about the significant changes in developmental biology over the course of his career. For more information on Olivier's research follow this link: https://hsci.harvard.edu/people/olivier-pourqui%C3%A9-phd

Prof Cristina Lo Celso, Professor of Stem Cell Biology and group leader at Imperial College London, is interviewed by PhD student Elena Drudi. Cristina discusses her work visualising blood stem cells and determining the factors that control their function, to better understand mechanisms underlying blood based cancers. She also talks about her career progression and the importance for her of travelling between countries. For more information on Cristina's research follow this link: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.lo-celso

We return this week to an episode recorded during lockdown. Dr Ivo Lieberam, Senior Lecturer and group leader at the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King's College London, is interviewed by PhD student Eva Hamrud. Ivo discusses his work on generating neuromuscular models in a dish that can be used to understand neuromuscular diseases and screen novel therapies. He also discusses his long term aim to generate technologies, such as light controlled medical devices and biorobots, that could be used in the future to treat a range of diseases. For more information on Ivo's research follow this link: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/research/divisions/gmm/departments/stemcells/people/dr-ivo-lieberam

We return this week with an episode recorded during lockdown. Dr Francesca Spagnoli, Group Leader at the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King's College London, is interviewed by PhD student Teodora Manea. Francesca discusses her group's research on understanding how pancreatic beta cells communicate with their environment and the possibility of converting liver cells to pancreas cells, with the aim of applying this to cell replacement therapies in the treatment of diabetes. She also talks about studying mouse and human pancreatic development and learning from a comparative approach. For more on Francesca's research, follow this link: https://www.spagnolilab.org/

We return this week with an episode recorded during lockdown. Prof. James Sharpe, the head of EMBL Barcelona, is interviewed by PhD student Sergi Junyent. Prof. Sharpe is one of the key opinion leaders in developmental biology and bioengineering. Here, he talks about the pioneering work done by his group in understanding tissue development and discusses his how his work brings together his passion for computer programming and biology. For more information on Prof. Sharpe's research follow this link: https://www.embl.es/research/unit/sharpe/members/index.php?s_personId=CP-60027035

“Even just to understand the genesis of human being itself... It must be one of the holy grails of modern biology.” We return this week with an episode recorded during lockdown. Professor Jianping Fu, a professor of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical engineering and Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan, is interviewed by PhD student Sergi Junyent. He talks about the technical difficulties and ethical issues of studying human development. He discusses the growing field of stem cell based embryo models to study the early stages of development and the future directions of these models. For more information on Jianping's research follow this link: http://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/

We return this week with an episode recorded during lockdown. Professor Ludovic Vallier, Professor of Regenerative Medicine within the Department of Surgery at Cambridge University and director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre hIPSCs (human induced pluripotent stem cells) core facility, is interviewed by PhD student Alice Vickers. He talks about his work using human pluripotent cells to generate pancreas, lung, gut and liver cells. He speaks about how his involvement in industry aims to generate cell types for clinical studies and for cell based therapy. For more information on Ludovic's research follow this link: https://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/People/pi/vallier

We return this week with an episode recorded during lockdown. Professor Peter Jones, Professor of Endocrine Biology and head of the Department of Physiology at King's College London, is interviewed by PhD student Prudence Lui. Peter breaks down the basics of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and discusses his lab's recent research into the phenomenon of mitochondrial transfer. After 36 years at King's, Peter talks about what has kept him in scientific research. For more information on Peter's research follow this link: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/peter-jones

We return this week to an episode recorded during lockdown. Dr Norah Fogarty, a new group leader at the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King's College London, is interviewed by PhD student Geraldine Jowett. Norah discusses her work on the development of the trophectoderm in the human embryo, which is the progenitor of early placental cells. She talks about how this work aims to further our understanding of human embryo development and early pregnancy loss, and may in the future lead to advances in assisted reproductive treatments. For more information on Norah's research follow this link: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/norah.fogarty.html

Today on the SC@L Digested Podcast, Post-doc Miguel Bernabe-Rubio speaks with Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli, a research fellow at the Boston Children’s Hospital and soon-to-be principal investigator at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona. Alejo talks about his work using single cell maps to understand highly variable populations of cells and his future research focus on acute myeloid leukaemia. He also talks about developing his skills in computational biology through collaboration and the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone to succeed in interdisciplinary research. To see more of Alejo's research, follow this link: https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/176343