Michelle Teunissen is a veterinary researcher at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University, with a strong focus on osteoarthritis and pain. Her research centers on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying chronic joint pain. She is specifically interested in how tissue-level changes, within the synovium and dorsal root ganglia, correlate with pain perception. To address this, she integrates in vitro models with tissue-derived data, including (single-cell) transcriptomics, and clinical data such as patient-reported outcomes and gait analysis from dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Her research aims to bridge fundamental biology with clinically relevant insights and to identify novel therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis pain.
Michelle obtained her veterinary degree in 2017 at Utrecht University, specializing in the companion animal track. During her training, she developed a strong interest in research, which she pursued through the selective honours programme. In addition, she participated in 2016 in the Veterinary Leadership Programme at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
She completed her PhD at Utrecht University as part of the William Hunter Revisited project, under the supervision of prof. dr. Marianna Tryfonidou, prof. dr. Björn Meij, prof. dr. Lafeber and dr. Simon Mastbergen. Her PhD research focused on joint distraction as a regenerative treatment strategy for osteoarthritis, with particular emphasis on the biological processes underlying cartilage repair. Notably, this research contributed to the first successful application of joint distraction in a dog with end-stage osteoarthritis.
Following her PhD, Michelle continued her work as a postdoctoral researcher and is currently appointed as assistant professor, where her research focus has shifted more strongly towards osteoarthritis-related pain. She is committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, both nationally and internationally. She is involved in collaborative initiatives such as the Ombion project focusing on the development of advanced in vitro systems to reduce reliance on animal experimentation with both academic and industrial partners.
In addition to her research activities, Michelle is actively involved in teaching and supervision within the veterinary curriculum. She is particularly dedicated to mentoring Bachelor’s and Master’s thesis students and to strengthening research education within the curriculum. She coordinates the Master course Animal Movement Sciences (AMS) together with Ineke Smit and the interdisciplinary bachelor course Regenerative Medicine together with Lizette Utomo and Marianna Tryfonidou.
