Science Blog
Welcome to our blog!
Regenerative Medicine Utrecht is more than just science. Behind our scientific output, we have a hard-working, interdisciplinary team from different departments within UMC Utrecht, Utrecht University, and the Hubrecht Institute. We are diverse and from different backgrounds, but we all have a common ground: Regenerative Medicine. With this science blog, we would like to introduce you to the wonderful world of Regenerative Medicine, but with a special focus on the people behind it. Enjoy!
Laboratory technicians, aka “who makes research possible”
Not very often we consider how many different figures contribute to research behind the scenes. This is the example of research technicians.
An unusual collaboration: an interview with dr. Magdalena Harakalova and dr. Frank van Steenbeek
Dr. Magdalena Harakalova and dr. Frank van Steenbeek introduce themselves, their background, and discuss projects and visions within their last grants.
RESCUE them! - Being in an international PhD’s shoes during the pandemic
How is living and working abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic? Read what international PhD candidates have to say about it!
Introducing our new principal investigator Dr. Magdalena Lorenowicz
Dr. Magdalena Lorenowicz joined the RMCU in 2015 with her interest for mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). Together with her team, she is currently working to unveil the biology of MSC to improve MSC-based therapies. Find out more about Magdalena and her research in this interview!
An often overlooked opportunity for PhD students
Are you too busy chasing that big fish of high impact publications that you don't notice all the other fishes swimming right in front of you?
The expert who brings shape and flow into your project
Our people are diverse and yet connected by their passion for regenerative medicine, shared state-of-the-art facilities, and interdisciplinary collaborations. And there is one researcher who stands in the middle of all this: Dr. Yang Li.
Shrinking gels and growing researchers
A behind-the-scenes interview about doing part of your research at the prestigious Harvard Medical School, US.
Science outreach: a professor (and a dog) on TV
The stereotype of scientists working in the isolation of the academic ivory tower is long outdated.
Craziness in Science
In movies, science makes new realities possible; we can time travel, dinosaurs come back to…
Printing living tissue within seconds
A technology with science fiction qualities: one second, you are staring at a solution in …
Quantative translation: a bridge from petri dish to patient bed
If we want to skip animal testing in future, good in vitro models alone are ...
The roots of regenerative medicine
“The immortal Prometheus was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle was sent…
Meet Prof. Marianna Tryfonidou
In July 2019, Prof. Marianna Tryfonidou held her inaugural lecture as newly appointed Professor of Regenerative Orthopaedics at Utrecht University. But, who is the person behind this title?
One health, one medicine - and two new professors!
On 11 July 2019, two majestic horse-drawn carriages entered the dome square, suggesting that it was not a day like any other...
Science for society
Every scientific activity starts from a societal problem. Dr. Saber Amin Yavari’s story starts with the use of titanium as implants for orthopedic challenges...
Konichiwa, Riccardo!
Dr. Riccardo Levato from RMCU recently travelled to Japan for one week. The aim was to kick-off a new collaboration with Dr. Michiya Matsusaki, Osaka University.
Scientists in 2030: evolution or revolution?
Two weeks ago, I was one of around 400 scientists from all over the Netherlands who traveled to The Hague for the first national meeting about ‘the scientist in 2030’, organized by the Dutch funding organizations NWO and ZonMw.
Human kidney tubuloids
Back in 2008, just after the discovery of ASC-based organoid culturing, a new collaboration was forged between scientists from the lab of Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht and nephrologists from the group of Marianne Verhaar at the University Medical Center Utrecht.
Education in research
Education is an intrinsic part of research. We all start as students, and once we graduate and join academia, we are forever students.
Worst moments as a PhD student
Irina Mancini reflects on her worst moments as a PhD student.
The making of a liver
Dr. Riccardo Levato and Dr. Bart Spee are joining efforts and knowledge to biofabricate 3D-printed liver constructs containing living and functional hepatocytes for drug screening, which will represent a promising solution and might replace animal testing in the future.
The making of a 3D printed cardiac patch
The UMCU Cardiology and the Orthopedics department of RMU jointly succeeded in the making of a functional, 3D-printed cardiac patch.
Women in RMU
A few days ago, I had drinks with some fellow scientists. The group was quite heterogeneous, with representatives from all life stages of research (PIs excluded); and in the middle of a generic conversation, one of the younger colleagues interrupted the conversation and yelled “hot topic!”.
Top 3 moments as a PhD student
Talk about being a scientist. Let’s start with something easy. Coffee, hard work, colleague group hugs when you’re down, laughing, crying, coffee again…