Niels-Bjarne Woods is Research Group Leader for this research group

The ultimate goal of our research is to be able to provide an alternative and unlimited source of HLA match hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) for patients in need of HSC transplantation. Our research aims to understand the molecular processes involved in HSC development to be able to mimic normal in vivo development of HSCs in a laboratory culture system. We have already identified numerous of critical factors influencing different stages of the developmental commitment towards the blood lineage. More recently, using single cell transcriptomics we have identified novel precursor cell populations undergoing endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT). We are first to be able to capture these cells and have functionally assessed their potential. Our research platform allows us characterize the factors required HSC developmental by studying the immediate precursor cells that give rise to HSCs in vitro and comparing them with similar cells from in vivo sources.