Research Group SCHULTE-MERKER

Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research
Contact: Prof.dr. Stefan Schulte-Merker
E-mail: s.schulte@hubrecht.eu
Website: http://www.hubrecht.eu/research/schulte-merker/index.html

General research focus: Genetic analysis of vertebrate organogenesis

The main interest in the lab is vertebrate organogenesis, in particular the development of both the lymphatic and blood vasculature as well as the formation of mineralized bone tissue. Our approach to better understand this process with relevance to both embryogenesis and medicine is phenotype driven: we isolate zebrafish mutants that exhibit defects in endothelial or osteoblast behavior or function, and then study the affected gene on the molecular, cellular, and the organ level. We use mainly the zebrafish due to its amenability for genetic screens and its small size which permits studying  a particular organ in its entity. In addition the transparency of zebrafish larvae is a key feature which allows in vivo imaging of the behavior of osteoblasts and endothelial cells on a single cell level over time.

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