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Stem Cells and Developmental Biology

Understanding the fundamental biology that drives embryonic development and tissue maintenance provides the basis of much of our research into blood diseases, the cardiovascular system and rare genetic conditions.

Live image of a transgenic zebrafish embryo expressing Rpl10a, a ribosomal protein, fused to Cerulean fluorescent protein.

We employ a raft of expertise in single cell biology, gene editing and high resolution imaging to tease apart the key players in stem, progenitor and precursor cell differentiation. Our expertise in induced pluripotent stem cells drives many of our research programmes. Ultimately, we aim to translate findings from our model systems into novel treatments.

We are major contributors to the Oxford Stem Cell Institute and lead the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre Haematology and Stem Cells Theme. We are and are key players in the Oxford Developmental Biology Group .

Groups within this theme

Our group is interested in developing novel immunotherapeutic approaches for leukaemia. Clinical approaches currently used include allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors. While each of these approaches can be successful, they also fail in many patients as a result of tumour adaptations or diminished function of immune cells. Enhanced immunity can also lead to immune-related adverse events due to on- or off-target effects. We are exploring the mechanisms that underpin these failures and using this information to devise new strategies that can be translated into early phase clinical trials.

Chakraverty Group: Haematopoietic Transplantation and Immunotherapy

We study the embryonic origins of blood stem cells with the aim to inform the generation of these cells in culture, and ultimate produce clinically relevant blood stem cells for therapeutic purposes.

de Bruijn Group: Developmental Haematopoiesis

We are using a human genetic approach that relies on the latest developments of Next Generation Sequencing technology to study the intimate relationship that exists between the occurrence of new mutations and the regulation of cell fate choices in the male germline. Because life-long production of sperm is supported by regular divisions of so-called spermatogonial stem cells, each one of us acquire ~30-100 new mutations in our genome, the majority of which is paternal in origin.

Goriely Group: Clinical genetics

The Oxford MNM group focuses on developing in vitro models for neurological disease. Employing micro-fabrication techniques to define channels and features in cell culture devices at the scale of the cell and below, opens up the opportunity to shape cellular microenvironments to better reflect those found in the body. Our work uses these techniques and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies to create human cell culture models of the brain with the aim of enabling new possibilities to study neurovascular disease and improve drug discovery.

Holloway Group: Microfluidic Neurological Models (MNM)

Research in the Jacobsen group is focused at unravelling normal and malignant hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell biology at the single cell level.

Jacobsen Group: Haematopoietic Stem Cell Biology

The Haematopoietic Stem Cell Biology (HSCB) Laboratory is focused on understanding how the normal haematopoietic stem/progenitor hierarchy is disrupted during the development of myeloid malignancies. Our overarching aim is to improve the management of myeloproliferative neoplasms and related conditions through better monitoring and therapeutic targeting of malignant stem cell populations.

Mead Group: Haematopoietic Stem Cell Biology

Aberrant epigenetic changes are a driving force in many human cancers. The focus of our lab is centred on understanding how epigenetics impacts gene regulation so that this information can potentially be used to develop new therapeutic strategies.

Milne Group: Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression in Leukaemia and Haematopoiesis

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is the only stem cell therapy in routine clinical use, and it is also the cell type that gives rise to most blood cancers. We use single cell biology and genetics to understand how hematopoietic stem cells normally sustain blood formation, and how this process is altered during ageing and when leukemia develops.

Nerlov Group: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Genetics

We focus on four key areas: (1) Dissecting how blood cancers create 'self-reinforcing' niches that promote clonal expansion and protect malignant clones from immunotherapies; (2) Development and application of human bone marrow organoids to study normal and malignant haematopoiesis and validate targets in a relevant tissue microenvironment; (3) Developing novel strategies to selectively target cancer stem cells and pathological megakaryocytes in myelofibrosis, a severe bone marrow malignancy; (4) Understanding our recent discovery that platelets contain a repertoire of DNA fragments sequestered from cell free DNA, and confirming clinical utility for cancer detection and for pre-natal diagnosis.

Psaila Group: The tumour microenvironment in blood cancers

Defining important functional paradigms that lead to inherited cardiomyopathies, in search of novel treatments.

Redwood Group: Cardiac Contractility

We focus on systems level “big picture” approaches to understand gene regulation and build gene regulatory networks during development and disease in zebrafish, chick, lamprey and human models.

Sauka-Spengler Group: Gene Regulatory Networks in Development and Disease

We define how the immune system functions in the intestine to promote health. We uncover the immune pathogenesis of intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease to develop better ways to treat these disorders.

Simmons Group: Intestinal Immunity in Health and Disease

We are a computational biology research group using genomic and functional genomic data to study transcriptional regulation, with projects spanning from neuroscience to musculoskeletal biology.

Sims Group: Computational Genomics

We investigate the genetic, molecular and physiological basis of endocrine disorders that affect calcium homeostasis, and endocrine tumour development. By identifying and understanding the underlying mechanisms, we aim to establish better diagnostic methods and develop novel targeted therapies for these disorders to improve patient care.

Thakker Group: Academic Endocrine Unit

Understanding key mechanisms that govern cardiac muscle function in health and disease

Toepfer Group: Cardiac Physiology and Disease Modeling

We aim to understand the fundamental biological processes underlying normal and malignant haematopoiesis and translate this to improve patient outcomes through new rational therapies.

Vyas Group: Biology and Treatment of Human Myeloid Cancers

The ability to sequence whole exomes and genomes of individual people has revolutionised our ability to explore the full spectrum of genetic mutations causing serious human diseases. Working closely with the craniofacial teams based in Oxford and other UK units, we specialise in the application of these methods to children born with a serious malformation of the skull termed craniosynostosis.

Wilkie Group: Clinical Genetics

Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) support blood cell production throughout life and are also used clinically in cell and gene therapies. We are studying the biology of this important stem cell population with the aim of developing new HSC-based therapies.

Wilkinson Group: Blood Stem Cell Expansion and Fitness