From intern to co-author in Science: how student Shanie helped with groundbreaking research

13 October 2025 Research news item

Medical Biology student Shanie Wu thought lab work wasn't for her; "repetitive and boring". Until during her Master's internship she suddenly found herself in the middle of ongoing scientific research and contributed to a groundbreaking discovery about how our intestines replace and renew cells. "I immediately became super enthusiastic; it was truly a new theory, at the forefront of science."

One hundred billion. That's the number of intestinal cells replaced daily in our bodies. A logistical operation that runs completely automatically – unless something goes wrong. Then inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease can develop, or tumours due to damaged cells accumulating. Scientists had a theory about how our bodies determine which cells should be removed, but this had never been empirically proven.

Dr Daniel Krueger, a researcher at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, decided to test that theory. Master's student Shanie Wu was allowed to help in the crucial final phase. Her contribution proved so valuable that she became co-author on an article in Science, one of the world's most prestigious scientific journals.

A tug-of-war between cells

"The old theory was intuitively quite easy to follow," Shanie explains. "Because cells are produced at the bottom of the intestinal villus and slide upwards towards the tip, people thought they were 'squeezed out' there by the continuous pressure of new cells." But when Krueger made a small cut in intestinal tissue with a laser, something surprising happened: the cells didn't move towards each other (which you would expect 'under pressure'), but actually moved apart.

Shanie: "Daniel discovered that cells play a kind of tug-of-war with each other. They're constantly under tension to check: are you still healthy? If you can't exert enough counter-force, you get expelled." The motor protein Myosin II plays a crucial role in this. "When he told me about this 'tug-of-war' theory, I immediately became super enthusiastic. It was truly a new theory, at the forefront of science."

In the right place at the right time

Shanie was fortunate with her timing. "When I joined the research group, the first version of the article was already finished and submitted for peer review." But that review generated suggestions for additional experiments. Meanwhile, several labs around the world were working on similar research, so there was time pressure to publish first.

"I arrived precisely at that moment. As internship supervisor, Daniel saw that I picked things up quickly and asked if I wanted to help with the final sprint for his publication."

Shanie's most important contribution was an experiment with 'mosaic organoids' – mini-intestines grown from two types of cells: normal cells and mutated cells that had overactive Myosin II, and thus exerted more pulling tension. "I analysed which cells were expelled the most: the normal ones or the strong Myosin II cells?" The result confirmed the theory: the normal cells lost the tug-of-war.

Good supervision crucial

The race to publish first was intense, but motivating. "Suddenly I was right in the middle of 'real' science. You got the feeling: we have to do this together, we can do this!"

Supervision was crucial. "That's one of the most important factors for a successful internship. I was the only intern, so there was lots of one-to-one contact with Daniel." What particularly stuck with her: he took her seriously. "I could really think along about the next steps. That enormously fuelled my motivation."

Portraits of Daniel Krueger and Shanie Wu — Dr. Daniel Krueger and Medical Biology-student Shanie Wu

From theory to therapy

The discovery has direct clinical relevance. "Now that we know how the process works, you can investigate how to influence this by manipulating the tension between cells, or by affecting the protein Myosin II." Further research is still needed for that, but it offers prospects for new clinical therapies.

And Shanie's work isn't finished yet. "I'm busy completing my internship. In the paper we looked at the biomechanics of this process; now I'm looking at the biochemical signalling." Will that yield a second Science publication? "I wouldn't dare say," she laughs. "But that would be really cool..."

Always something new to learn

The biggest lesson? "I thought lab work wasn't for me, far too repetitive. And I didn't want to do a PhD either." She changed her mind about both assumptions. "This internship proved the opposite to me. That was really nice to discover."

Does she have tips for fellow students who also want to see their name in Science? "Every research project at every internship is already impactful – you contribute to the bigger picture. I was lucky with the timing and with my supervisor. But I also believe: if you're enthusiastic, do your best, and have passion for what you do, then it always works out well."

And sometimes better than you could have dreamed. "You can't plan your future in advance. You learn as you go about what you like and don’t like. Now I've tried different things, and now I know what I want."

The research "Epithelial tension controls intestinal cell extrusion" was published in Science (September 2025). Shanie Wu carried out her internship at the Hubrecht Institute under the supervision of Daniel Krueger, in the research group of Hans Clevers – founder of organoid technology.

Contact information

Organizational unit: Faculty of Science
Theme: Molecules and materials