We research the generation of the most abundant cells in our bodies, the red blood cells. We are particularly interested in how this process is regulated and what goes wrong when a failure leads to anemia. Two main aims of the group are. 1. Develop novel therapies for patients with anemia that today lack effective therapy. - From different screening and medicinal chemistry approaches we are identifying drug candidates for treatment of anemia that are validated in anemic mouse models and on cells from patients with severe congenital anemia. 2. To understand the developmental process of red blood cell formation. - The group was the first to define the genetic code that instructs a cell to become an erythropoietin-sensitive erythroblast. - Through analysis of genome wide association studies and screening the group has identified several previously unknown genes that are essential for normal red cell production.