Genome regulation in embryonic development
The research of Hendrik Marks focuses on genome regulation during the early stages of embryonic development in humans and mice. He specifically investigates how cells in the early embryo develop into trophectoderm cells (the future placenta) or epiblast cells (the future foetus). Additionally, his lab examines at a later stage how the epiblast cells specialise into cells from one of the three germ layers in both organisms. Hendrik plans to use the prize money of €40,000 for functional studies of proteins that may be involved in the development towards trophectoderm or epiblast during human embryonic development.
Hendrik Marks' response
Dr. Hendrik Marks responds: "I am immensely grateful: this allows me and my team to further investigate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the initial cell lineage separation in human embryogenesis. I am very thankful for all the support and collaborations from colleagues at the Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS), the Radboud Faculty of Science, and Radboud University, an excellent environment for our research. Also, I am grateful for the many collaborative partners over the years. And many thanks to all the current and former members of my team, who are at the foundation of it all; very happy to work with such talented and dedicated researchers!"
