Research

The Developmental Biology division is home to five research groups, each with their own research focus.

Van den Heuvel group

Research topics in our group include asymmetric cell division, the control of cell-cycle entry, and the regulation of differentiation vs. proliferation. C. elegans is the main model system used for these studies, with less frequent use of mammalian tissue culture systems.

Boxem group

Our group addresses the establishment of cell polarity through a combination of systematic protein interaction mapping and in vivo studies in C. elegans.

Reproductive Biology group

Our group addresses the issues associated with genetic introgression and precocious male puberty in farmed Atlantic salmon, by designing strategies to generate infertile salmon for aquaculture..

Ruijtenberg group

We focus on how translational regulation contributes to cellular behavior and developmental decisions, using a combination of genetic, biochemical and single molecule imaging approaches.

Suijkerbuijk group

We use 3D organoid co-cultures to integrate quantitative imaging, cell biology and biochemistry to study how cell competition is regulated and how misregulation of this process can lead to disease.