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European Research Training in Understanding the Molecular Regulation and the Role of Endo-Lysosomal Processes in Cardio-Metabolic Diseases.
Latest News •
Cargo-Specific Role for Retriever Subunit VPS26C in Hepatocyte Lipoprotein Receptor Recycling to Control Postprandial Triglyceride-Rich Lipoproteins
Bart van de Sluis2022-11-23T12:38:06+00:00November 21, 2022|Publications|
[read more…]
Endosomal trafficking in metabolic homeostasis and diseases
Bart van de Sluis2022-10-13T08:09:31+00:00October 12, 2022|Publications|
Jerome Gilleron and Anja Zeigerer
Abstract | The global prevalences of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus have reached epidemic status, presenting a heavy burden on society. It is therefore essential to find novel mechanisms and targets [read more…]
About Metabolic Syndrom •
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collection of pathological conditions that include abdominal obesity, increased blood pressure, insulin resistance and increased blood glucose and lipids. MetS is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Combined, these cardio-metabolic diseases form a heavy burden on our society and health care system. Clearly, increasing our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis will provide tools to improve prognosis, diagnosis and ultimately treatment of patients with cardio-metabolic diseases.
About Metabolic Syndrom •
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collection of pathological conditions that include abdominal obesity, increased blood pressure, insulin resistance and increased blood glucose and lipids. MetS is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Combined, these cardio-metabolic diseases form a heavy burden on our society and health care system. Clearly, increasing our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis will provide tools to improve prognosis, diagnosis and ultimately treatment of patients with cardio-metabolic diseases.
Mission & Ambition •
It is the ambition of EndoConnect to bring top scientists and industrial partners from different European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, UK, Finland, Spain, Switzerland) together to train PhD students in interdisciplinary research, with the focus on translating key findings from cellular and animal models to patients with cardio-metabolic diseases.
EndoConnect will provide an international training program for PhD students to acquire knowledge and state-of-the-art scientific, technical, and transferable skills to connect molecular and cell biology research with physiology and biomedical research towards translation. This training will significantly increase the career perspectives of PhDs and allow them to become the future leaders in this emerging interdisciplinary field, both in a scientific and societal manner.
Work Packages •
The endo-lysosomal processes in metabolic disease development and therapeutic efficacy.
Our Team •
Principal investigators & management
Bart van de Sluis
Floor Morriën
Pete Cullen
Judith Klumperman
Anja Zeigerer
Jörg Heeren
Jan Albert Kuivenhoven
Albert Pol
Pablo Sáez
Helen Boyd
Kevin Moreau
Elina Ikonen
Noam Zelcer
Alain de Bruin
Marta Bosch
Raymond Schiffelers
Bart van de Sluis
Dr. Bart van de Sluis graduated in Biology from the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. In 1998, he was appointed as a PhD student at the Department of Human Genetics at the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He received his PhD degree (cum laude, highest distinction in the Netherlands) in 2002. As a post-doctoral fellow, he continued his scientific career at the Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH, Bethesda, USA). Mid-2004, he returned back to Utrecht as a post-doc and in March 2008, he moved to Groningen to set up his own research group to further understand the molecular regulation of lipid metabolism. He is using cellular and mouse models to study these different processes in great detail. In addition, he runs a mouse transgenic mouse facility at the RUG/UMCG to generate new mouse models using different approaches, such as the CRISPR/Cas9 methodology.
Pete Cullen
Prof. Peter Cullen is Professor of Biochemistry, Wellcome Trust Investigator and Medical Research Council Programme Grant Holder with the School of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol. With over 20 years of running an independent laboratory he has supervised 13 PhD students to completion. The vast majority are continuing to develop their careers as group leaders, post-docs in academic and industry, or through positions within funding agencies and medical publishing/writing.
Judith Klumperman
Judith Klumperman is cell biologist and expert in electron microscopy (EM). Her lab is internationally renowned for the use of immuno-EM and correlative light electron microscopy (CLEM). Her research is aimed to understand how genetic mutations lead to cellular disorganization and disease with focus on the endo-lysosomal pathway. Since 2018, Judith chairs the Netherlands Electron Microscopy Infrastructure’ (NEMI) for national coordinated investments in EM development, infrastructure and education.
Anja Zeigerer
The research group leader Anja Zeigerer is functioning as PI in this project. Dr. Zeigerer conducted her PhD at Weill Cornell Medical School, NYC and obtained her degree at the University of Heidelberg in 2004. She moved on to do a first postdoc at Rockefeller University, NYC afterwards and a second one to the Max-Planck-Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden. Now she is leading her independent research group since 2015 at the IDC in Munich.
Jörg Heeren
Prof. Dr. Joerg Heeren (born 1970) is Heisenberg Professor for Immunometabolism, deputy director of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology at UKE. He has great experience as principal investigator in national and international collaborative research initiatives. The consortium will benefit from his expertise in metabolic studies including nanoparticle-based imaging technologies, technologies to analyse systemic and organ-specific energy metabolism, and high-throughput platform technologies to monitor organ-specific metabolomics networks in adipose tissue.
Jan Albert Kuivenhoven
Started out as a molecular and cellular biologist (MSc 1991 cum laude; Wageningen University Research Center, the Netherlands). He finished his PhD at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (1996; Department of Experimental Vascular Medicine) on the genetics of high-density lipoprotein and triglyceride metabolism. Following a post-doc at the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Biology, Boston (1997-1999), where he worked on angiogenesis, he returned to Amsterdam and continued working on the genetics of human dyslipidemias. In September 2011, he moved to the University Medical Center Groningen (Department of Pediatrics) where he is heading a basic research group with strong translational focus on identification and molecular characterization of new genes with roles in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. As of 2017, he has been appointed full Professor at the University Medical Center Groningen.
Albert Pol
The Lipid Trafficking and Disease group, supervised by Albert Pol, was founded in 2001 to characterize the cellular processes regulated or altered due to lipid accumulation within cells and how these processes determine animal’s physiology and human disease.
Pablo Sáez
Prof. Dr. Pablo J. Sáez (born 1984), recently appointed in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology at UKE. He has a large international network of collaborators due to his international training. His main expertise is in cell communication and cell migration using novel techniques (i.e. microfluidics and micropatterning). The consortium will benefit from his expertise on lyososomal calcium channels, as well as his expertise in cell signaling (ER-stress) induced by obesity.
Helen Boyd
Helen Boyd is a biochemist and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years. This has involved working as a laboratory scientist, a scientific team leader and more recently in business planning and operations. Helen has supervised a number of PhD students, post-doctoral scientists and has published over 20 peer review papers.
Kevin Moreau
Kevin Moreau is the PROTAC safety leader at AstraZeneca. Before joining AstraZeneca, Kevin was a Principal Investigator at the University of Cambridge, UK. Kevin is a protein trafficking expert, having worked on protein degradation for more than 10 years, notably in the autophagy-lysosomal field. Kevin has published more than 25 peer review papers including papers in Cell, Nature Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Biology and Nature Communications.
Elina Ikonen
Professor Elina Ikonen, MD PhD, leads the Lipid Trafficking Lab at the Stem Cells and Metabolism Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki. She is the Chair of the HiLIFE BioImaging platform, Director of the Biomedicum Imaging Unit, EMBO member and European Coordinator of Foundation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence in Cellular and systemic cholesterol transport in physiology and disease. She has previously supervised 15 postdoctoral fellows and 12 PhD theses into completion.
Noam Zelcer
The local PI, Prof dr Noam Zelcer leads an independent research group in the Department of Medical Biochemistry of the AMC (5 PhDs, 3 Postdoc, and 3 technician) and is a holder of an ERC Consolidator grant, an NWO Vici grant, and is an Established Investigator of the Dutch Heart Society. He puts great emphasize on mentoring his trainees and facilitating their growth towards scientific independence.
Alain de Bruin
Alain de Bruin is the head of department Biomolecular Health Sciences at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He obtained his DVM degree in 1994 at University of Hannover, Germany. He performed his PhD research in the field of cancer biology and graduated in 1999 at the University of Berne, Switzerland. From 1999-2005, he was a veterinary anatomic pathology resident and postdoctoral fellow at the Ohio State University, USA. In 2005 he was appointed as full Professor in Pathobiology at Utrecht University.
Marta Bosch
Marta Bosch is the senior associate researcher at the Lipid Trafficking and Disease group, headed by Albert Pol. Her research is involved in the study of the cellular processes related to lipid homeostasis, lipid droplet and mitochondrial physiology and energetic metabolism. Since early this year, she has been appointed Tenure-eligible lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona
Raymond Schiffelers
Raymond Schiffelers is pharmaceutical scientist in the field of nanomedicine. His lab focuses on synthetic and natural lipid-based nanoparticles for the delivery of nucleic acids and small molecular weight drugs. This involves the design and characterization of these formulations, their cellular interaction up to therapeutic efficacy. Raymond is presidentof the European Technology Platform Nanomedicine and is part-time employed as vice-president preclinical R&D at Nanocell Therapeutics a start-up in the field of gene engineering.
PhD students
Shrestha Shaw
Rebeka Butkovic
Camilla Ruffilli
Matteo Tantucci
Klevis Ndoj
Carmen Paredes Yubero
Gyana Lipsa Parida
Joël Tissink
Orsolya Farkas
Ankia Visser
Kim Hurkmans
David McGrath
Alejandra Puentes
Haoran Li
Markus Barbosa
Shrestha Shaw
Shrestha completed her Integrated BSc-MSc degree from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali. She was actively a part of wet lab for three years where she basically worked on the roles of small GTPases in regulating endocytic traffic towards lysosomes. Her Master’s thesis was on role of an effector of small G-protein in retrograde trafficking of CI-MPR receptor from early endosomes to Golgi. All these experiences motivated her to continue working in the field of endocytic trafficking and be a part of EndoConnect. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD at University of Bristol, UK, in Pete Cullen’s lab, during which she is hoping to unravel the structural assembly of multi-protein complexes like CCC and Retriever which plays an essential role in endosomal cargo sorting.
Rebeka Butkovic
Rebeka started her studies with a BSc in Microbiology at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her interest in cell biology led her to study Genetics and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki, Finland. During her Master’s there, she specialised in Cell and Developmental biology, and her research projects focused on the crosstalk between different organellar systems. She is eager to continue studying the endo-lysosomal system and she is very excited to be a part of EndoConnect. In her PhD project at the University of Bristol, she is focusing on a complex called Retriever, and on its function in hepatocytes.
Camilla Ruffilli
Camilla completed her BSc in Biotechnologies in Bologna, Italy and during her time there she undertook a placement at the anatomy department. In 2020 she completed her MSc with an internship at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, focusing on cellular biology and new molecular tools such as the splitFAST reporter system. She is thrilled to have started her PhD in collaboration with AstraZeneca in Cambridge and for the first time experience research at an industrial setting. She will be working with PROTACs, chimeras that induce selective protein degradation, which she will then use to target specific cell surface receptors. She also looks forward to enjoying some warm scones with English tea!
Matteo Tantucci
Matteo obtained his double master degree in Functional Genomics and Molecular and Cellular biology from the university of Trieste and Rennes1, respectively. During his internship at the IPNP in Paris, he worked on the development of an optogenetic tool to study exosome secretion and the relationship between the endosomal system and cholesterol. In September 2021 he joined Klumperman’s lab at UMC Utrecht as a PhD student to investigate the role of Vps3, Vps8 and Vps33B in cholesterol metabolism, with a focus on LDLR/LRP1 transport. In his free time he likes to play chess and watch old movies.
Klevis Ndoj
Klevis obtained his MSc in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at University of Florence in May 2021. He did his master internship at The Institute for the Study, Prevention and Oncology Network (ISPRO), applying CRISPR genetic screening to find novel regulators of genetic editors AID/APOBECs family. In line with his scientific interest and expertise, he joined the Noam Zelcer group as a PhD student in July 2021. Here, in collaboration with the EndoConnect network, his main focus is to elucidate the role of NPC1 in LDL-derived cholesterol transport from the late Endo-Lysosomal compartment.
Carmen Paredes Yubero
Carmen comes from Madrid, Spain. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s Degree in Biomedicine from Autonomous University of Madrid. During these studies, she was part of a couple of research projects focused on understanding the role of different mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in the function of the electron transport chain and the production of reactive oxygen species. She recently started her PhD project at Anja Zeigerer’s lab at Helmholtz Zentrum München, where she will focus on studying the role of candidate endosomal proteins in metabolism.
Gyana Lipsa Parida
Gyana holds an integrated bachelor’s and master’s dual degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research,Mohali, India. She majored in biological sciences from the institute and was closely associated with several labs doing internships and a research based master’s degree course. During her master’s thesis she worked actively in the field of cell biology focusing on characterization of the interaction of the protein TECPR2 with multisubunit tethering factor HOPS complex which is an important component for cellular trafficking towards lysosomes. Cell biology became her automatic choice in pursuit of doctoral study. She is currently affiliated to Albert Pol’s lab as a PhD scholar at IDIBAPS where she is working on High-throughput screening of endosomes in different metabolic/genetic backgrounds. In her free time, she likes to read novels.
Joël Tissink
Joël was drawn to the interesting field of metabolism and energy homeostasis during his biomedical studies in Groningen. He participated in research regarding diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and he got in touch with endo-lysosomal regulation and the impact on metabolic diseases. He is happy to continue in this field by investigating possible candidates and mechanisms herein. Other than science, he likes to do outdoor sports, listen to and play music, and watch movies and series. Here in Zurich and Munich, he would like to explore the mountains by bike or by hike, which are new to him as a Dutchman.
Orsolya Farkas
Orsolya obtained a bachelor’s degree in Laboratory Sciences from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She continued her studies by pursuing a research-oriented degree in Molecular Life Sciences at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. Here, she worked on establishing a liver-on-chip system mimicking a systemic infection caused by a fungal pathogen. Following this, she joined a life-science company in Cambridge UK, where she worked in the functional genomic team using the CRISPR-Cas9 tool for screening. She has always been interested in disease-oriented research and she thinks that the study of endo-lysosomal system in the context of metabolic diseases and therapy is an interesting and relevant topic.
Ankia Visser
Ankia was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. She decided to pursue a Master’s in biochemistry at the same university, where she studied the role of stress and inflammation in the development of hepatic insulin resistance. She is very excited to be a part of the EndoConnect team where she will be able to build on what she has learnt about metabolic syndrome in her MSc. She will be investigating novel lipid genes and their role in lipid metabolism at the UMCG in Groningen.
Kim Hurkmans
Kim is a PhD student at the lab of Jörg Heeren in Hamburg. She is very broadly interested, that’s why she first studied Psychobiology (Neuroscience) at the University of Amsterdam. After that, she did the master Biomedical Sciences at the University of Groningen where she took an interest in epigenetics, the gut microbiome and the liver and now her research will focus on brown adipose tissue.
David McGrath
David comes from Ireland where he did his bachelor’s at the University of Limerick, after which he studied MSc in Biomedical Sciences at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. He has experience in skeletal myocyte mitophagy and respiration, and myocardial energetics and cardiac function in humans. His EndoConnect project is in the labs of Prof. Sáez and Prof. Heeren at the UKE in Germany. His interests are endo-lysosomal communication, cardiometabolic disorders, adipocyte biology, advanced microscopy, and microfluidics, which he will use to investigate the role of endo-lysosomal membrane proteins in energy metabolism of brown and white adipocytes during cold-induced thermogenesis and metaflammation.
Alejandra Puentes
Alejandra is a biologist graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. She did her research at the Instituto de Errores Innatos del Metabolismo where she worked with lentiviral vectors carrying the GALNS cDNA as a gene therapy approach for Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA, a lysosomal storage disease. In October 2021, she joined InteRNA and the Cell Biology, Metabolism & Cancer Division at Utrecht University in the Netherlands as a PhD student. She is working on elucidating the endo-lysosomal trafficking of lipid nanoparticles carrying miRNA mimics for cancer therapy.
Haoran Li
Haoran comes from China where he received his bachelor’s degree from Sichuan University, majoring in clinical medicine. He did a master’s at Fudan University, China, acquiring three years of full-time lab experience by investigating the relationship between bone and cholesterol metabolism. With a background in clinical and experimental biomedicine, he developed an interest in better understanding the mechanisms of lipid transport and lipid metabolic diseases. His EndoConnect project is under the guidance of Prof. Elina Ikonen at the University of Helsinki, Finland, where he investigates the mechanisms of endo-lysosomal lipid metabolism, trafficking and communication with other subcellular organelles.
Markus Barbosa
Markus obtained a BSc in Biology & Biochemistry from Knox College in the U.S. and a MSc in Biomedical Research from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. For his Masters project, he joined IDIBAPS Biomedical Research Institute where he studied the relationship between molecular regulation of lipid metabolism and colorectal tumorigenesis. This project sparked his interest in lipid metabolism and the role it plays in the development of pathologies. Markus is looking forward to starting his PhD at UMCG under Dr. Bart van de Sluis & Dr. Kuivenhoven with the aim of further elucidating on metabolic diseases.
Partners
Amsterdam AMC
About the institute
The Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam (AMC) is one of the foremost research institutions in the Netherlands, as well as one of its largest hospitals. Over 7000 people work here to provide integrated patient care, fundamental and clinical scientific research, and teaching. The AMC complex houses the University Hospital, the Faculty of Medicine of University of Amsterdam, and a wide-range of high-quality core facilities which will be accessible to EndoConnect members and support the scientific goals of the project.
Website AMCPeople involved in EndoConnect
The local PI, Prof dr Noam Zelcer leads an independent research group in the Department of Medical Biochemistry of the AMC (5 PhDs, 3 Postdoc, and 3 technician) and is a holder of an ERC Consolidator grant, an NWO Vici grant, and is an Established Investigator of the Dutch Heart Society. He puts great emphasize on mentoring his trainees and facilitating their growth towards scientific independence.Astra Zeneca
AstraZeneca is a global pharmaceutical company of approximately 70,000 employees worldwide. The company focuses on three main therapy areas; Oncology, Cardiovascular, renal and metabolic and Respiratory and immunology. There are also specific programmes in the areas of Neuroscience and Infectious Diseases. Following the science is one of the company core values and AstraZeneca works on a broad spectrum of modalities from small molecules, biologics and new modalities including protein degradation and cell therapy. AstraZeneca is aligned to one of the students within EndoConnect.
Website Astra ZenecaPeople involved in EndoConnect
Helen Boyd is a biochemist and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years. This has involved working as a laboratory scientist, a scientific team leader and more recently in business planning and operations. Helen has supervised a number of PhD students, post-doctoral scientists and has published over 20 peer review papers.
Kevin Moreau is the PROTAC safety leader at AstraZeneca. Before joining AstraZeneca, Kevin was a Principal Investigator at the University of Cambridge, UK. Kevin is a protein trafficking expert, having worked on protein degradation for more than 10 years, notably in the autophagy-lysosomal field. Kevin has published more than 25 peer review papers including papers in Cell, Nature Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Biology and Nature Communications.Institute for Diabetes and Cancer (IDC)
The Institute for Diabetes and Cancer (IDC) is a member of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center (HDC) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München. The IDC conducts research on the molecular basis of severe metabolic disorders, including metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes. The main causes of these metabolic disorders are malfunctions in the activity of genes and proteins regulating our metabolism. By analyzing such candidates in response to hormonal, nutritional and inflammatory cues, the IDC aims to define disease-causing malfunctions in glucose, fat and protein metabolism, ultimately aiming at the identification of mechanisms, which increase the susceptibility to metabolic diseases. In this context, the group of Anja Zeigerer at the IDC is studying the connection between cellular trafficking and metabolic control.
Website IDCPeople involved in EndoConnect
The research group leader Anja Zeigerer is functioning as PI in this project. Dr. Zeigerer conducted her PhD at Weill Cornell Medical School, NYC and obtained her degree at the University of Heidelberg in 2004. She moved on to do a first postdoc at Rockefeller University, NYC afterwards and a second one to the Max-Planck-Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden. Now she is leading her independent research group since 2015 at the IDC in Munich.IDIBAPS-Fundació Clínic Barcelona
IDIBAPS-Fundació Clínic Barcelona is a public research center dedicated to translational research in the field of biomedicine. The IDIBAPS consortium is formed by the Government of Catalonia, the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Medicine (UB), the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (HCB) and the IIBB-CSIC. Located in the center of Barcelona, IDIBAPS is fitted out with the latest experimental equipment necessary to develop an innovative biomedical research activity. Indeed, IDIBAPS has a high scientific productivity, and in 2017 published 1,127 indexed articles with a mean impact factor of 6.12.
Website IDIBAPSPeople involved in EndoConnect
The Lipid Trafficking and Disease group, supervised by Albert Pol, was founded in 2001 to characterize the cellular processes regulated or altered due to lipid accumulation within cells and how these processes determine animal’s physiology and human disease.Nebion
Nebion is a Swiss bioinformatics and biocuration company developing the world’s most advanced transcriptomics database. Bulk tissue and single-cell RNA-Seq data from various sources are quality controlled, curated and integrated into a single data mining engine for biomarker and target discovery.
Website NebionPeople involved in EndoConnect
Philip Zimmermann studied agronomy at ETH Zurich, performed a PhD in molecular biology and a post-doc in bioinformatics at ETH Zurich. After this post-doc he became oberassistant at ETH Zurich where he started the development of the Genevestigator platform. In 2008 NEBION was founded as a spin-off company where Philip currently is CEO.
Jana Sponarova studied molecular biology in Prag followed by several post-docs in Sweden and Switzerland in oncology and neurodegenerative diseases. In 2014 she started a position at Nebion AG where she currently leads the biomedical curation team at Nebion.University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (UH) is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary research universities. It ranks among the top 20 universities in Europe and top 100 universities worldwide. Doctoral education at the UH is carried out at doctoral schools, with EndoConnect falling under the school of health sciences. Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE) coordinates the development and use of life science research infrastructures at the UH, and these are accessible to both internal and external users.
Website UHPeople involved in EndoConnect
Professor Elina Ikonen, MD PhD, leads the Lipid Trafficking Lab at the Stem Cells and Metabolism Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki. She is the Chair of the HiLIFE BioImaging platform, Director of the Biomedicum Imaging Unit, EMBO member and European Coordinator of Foundation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence in Cellular and systemic cholesterol transport in physiology and disease. She has previously supervised 15 postdoctoral fellows and 12 PhD theses into completion.University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
The objective of the research group at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf is to understand the regulation and relevance of lipid-triggered pathophysiological processes leading to obesity associated chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cardiovascular diseases. Abnormalities in lipid storage and energy combustion in adipose tissues are of key importance for the development of metabolic diseases. In this consortium, we aim to understand the cell type and organ-specific regulation of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism in thermogenic adipose tissues in relation to environmental factors such as cold exposure or high fat diets.
Website UKEPeople involved in EndoConnect
Prof. Dr. Joerg Heeren (born 1970) is Heisenberg Professor for Immunometabolism, deputy director of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology at UKE. He has great experience as principal investigator in national and international collaborative research initiatives. The consortium will benefit from his expertise in metabolic studies including nanoparticle-based imaging technologies, technologies to analyse systemic and organ-specific energy metabolism, and high-throughput platform technologies to monitor organ-specific metabolomics networks in adipose tissue.
Prof. Dr. Pablo J. Sáez (born 1984), recently appointed in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology at UKE. He has a large international network of collaborators due to his international training. His main expertise is in cell communication and cell migration using novel techniques (i.e. microfluidics and micropatterning). The consortium will benefit from his expertise on lyososomal calcium channels, as well as his expertise in cell signaling (ER-stress) induced by obesity.University Medical Center Groningen
University Medical Center Groningen is one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands. UMCG provides patient care, and is involved in medical education and perform cutting-edge scientific research, focused on ‘healthy and active ageing. Research is characterized by a combination of fundamental and patient oriented clinical research. The interaction between these two stimulates the development of new clinical and research opportunities.
The mission of the Laboratory of Pediatrics is building the future of metabolic health from early childhood onwards. This is accomplished by understanding the molecular principles of metabolic health and mechanisms underlying the development inborn and acquired metabolic diseases. Research results will be used to improve diagnostics and/or effective prevention and treatment strategies. Our research and clinical knowledge to educate the next generation of (bio)medical professionals. .
Website UMCGPeople involved in EndoConnect
Dr. Bart van de Sluis graduated in Biology from the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. In 1998, he was appointed as a PhD student at the Department of Human Genetics at the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He received his PhD degree (cum laude, highest distinction in the Netherlands) in 2002. As a post-doctoral fellow, he continued his scientific career at the Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH, Bethesda, USA). Mid-2004, he returned back to Utrecht as a post-doc and in March 2008, he moved to Groningen to set up his own research group to further understand the molecular regulation of lipid metabolism. He is using cellular and mouse models to study these different processes in great detail. In addition, he runs a mouse transgenic mouse facility at the RUG/UMCG to generate new mouse models using different approaches, such as the CRISPR/Cas9 methodology.
Jan Albert Kuivenhoven started out as a molecular and cellular biologist (MSc 1991 cum laude; Wageningen University Research Center, the Netherlands). He finished his PhD at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (1996; Department of Experimental Vascular Medicine) on the genetics of high-density lipoprotein and triglyceride metabolism. Following a post-doc at the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Biology, Boston (1997-1999), where he worked on angiogenesis, he returned to Amsterdam and continued working on the genetics of human dyslipidemias. In September 2011, he moved to the University Medical Center Groningen (Department of Pediatrics) where he is heading a basic research group with strong translational focus on identification and molecular characterization of new genes with roles in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. As of 2017, he has been appointed full Professor at the University Medical Center Groningen.University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU)
About the institute
The University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU) is a leading international center generating and applying knowledge on health, disease, and healthcare for the benefit of patients and society. Within the UMCU, fundamental research is concentrated in the Centre for Molecular Medicine, in which >160 people focus on understanding the molecular basis of diseases. This stimulating and highly collaborative environment offers excellent facilities and access to all the infrastructure and training required for this project. Within EndoConnect, UMCU will function as expert center for advanced microscopy with applications to biomedical sciences.
Website UMCUPeople involved in EndoConnect
Judith Klumperman is cell biologist and expert in electron microscopy (EM). Her lab is internationally renowned for the use of immuno-EM and correlative light electron microscopy (CLEM). Her research is aimed to understand how genetic mutations lead to cellular disorganization and disease with focus on the endo-lysosomal pathway. Since 2018, Judith chairs the Netherlands Electron Microscopy Infrastructure’ (NEMI) for national coordinated investments in EM development, infrastructure and education.
Nalan Liv is an Assistant Professor in Cell Biology, UMC Utrecht, where she also coordinates the Cell Microscopy Core. Her scientific niche is at the interface of cell biology and advanced microscopy. Nalan studies organelle positioning, dynamics, and interactions by utilizing a strong combination of molecular biology, live-cell fluorescence microscopy, and ultrastructural electron microscopy tools. She is passionate about bridging state-of-the-art fluorescence and electron microscopy techniques for cell biology studies in 3D cellular models.
Jui Shinde is a PhD student in the Klumperman lab. Her research is focused on -CHEVI complex-mediated intracellular recycling. She is trying to understand the molecular basis of a multi-system disorder ‘ARC syndrome’ caused by mutations in the CHEVI complex. She is setting up knock out models in the liver and kidney organoids to further explore this disease phenotype by using advanced fluorescence and EM techniques.
Raymond Schiffelers is pharmaceutical scientist in the field of nanomedicine. His lab focuses on synthetic and natural lipid-based nanoparticles for the delivery of nucleic acids and small molecular weight drugs. This involves the design and characterization of these formulations, their cellular interaction up to therapeutic efficacy. Raymond is presidentof the European Technology Platform Nanomedicine and is part-time employed as vice-president preclinical R&D at Nanocell Therapeutics a start-up in the field of gene engineering.
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is one of the most prestigious universities in the UK. It is a thriving international community combining excellence in research with a vibrant entrepreneurial culture. Research is at the heart of the University’s mission and accounts for its international reputation.
The Cullen lab is in the School of Biochemistry. This brings together molecular cell biologists with interests in multi-protein assemblies in three overlapping themes: (i) gene maintenance/expression, (ii) protein translocation/trafficking, (iii) cytoskeletal organization. The Wolfson Bioimaging Facility, Bristol Proteomic Facility and Bristol BioSuite provide state-of-the-art core facilities including cryo-EM.
People involved in EndoConnect
Prof. Peter Cullen is Professor of Biochemistry, Wellcome Trust Investigator and Medical Research Council Programme Grant Holder with the School of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol. With over 20 years of running an independent laboratory he has supervised 13 PhD students to completion. The vast majority are continuing to develop their careers as group leaders, post-docs in academic and industry, or through positions within funding agencies and medical publishing/writing.Utrecht University (UU)
“Bright minds, better future” At Utrecht University (UU) we are original, independent thinkers, hungry for new experiences, ideas and perspectives. With over 32,000 students we are one of the largest Dutch universities. Every year more than 600 Utrecht PhD candidates obtain their doctorate. One of EndoConnect research projects will be performed in the laboratory of Alain de Bruin affiliated with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. His research laboratory is located within the Hubrecht Institute building, one of the best research institute in the world, with brand new research labs and state of the art research facilities.
Website UUPeople involved in EndoConnect
Alain de Bruin is the head of department Biomolecular Health Sciences at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He obtained his DVM degree in 1994 at University of Hannover, Germany. He performed his PhD research in the field of cancer biology and graduated in 1999 at the University of Berne, Switzerland. From 1999-2005, he was a veterinary anatomic pathology resident and postdoctoral fellow at the Ohio State University, USA. In 2005 he was appointed as full Professor in Pathobiology at Utrecht University.