We study how metabolism regulates stem cell behaviour, with a primarily focus on neural stem cells. We are specifically interested in lipid metabolism and how the build-up and break-down of lipids, as well as their external availability, affects neural stem cells. For example, what role do lipid droplets play in instructing stem cell behaviour? These versatile, lipid-storing organelles are essential hubs for lipid metabolism and have not yet received much attention in our field. With human brain organoids, we plan to corroborate our findings obtained from mouse studies in a human context. As mutations in lipid metabolic pathways are quite common, we are studying the impact of such disturbances on neural stem cells using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells.
As our recent discoveries (see Publications) have shown that lipid droplets are much more abundant in the healthy brain than previously thought, we have recently extended our research interests to also study the more global role of lipid metabolism for brain development, as well as its function in adulthood and aging/disease.
Please go to the Research page for more information about our current projects!