Colleges
Websites
-
MRC Molecular Haematology Unit
Research Unit
-
MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine
Research Institute
Marella de Bruijn
Professor of Developmental Haematopoiesis
- Director of Graduate Studies
I obtained my BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Leiden University and my PhD from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where I trained in Immunology. I was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics at Erasmus University, and a Fellow of the Dutch Cancer Society at Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH. In 2003 I moved to Oxford to join the faculty of the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine.
My main research interest is the birth of blood stem and progenitor cells during embryonic development. Work in my group focuses on the cellular lineages and gene regulatory networks that underlie the de novo generation of blood stem cells, with the ultimate aim to contribute this knowledge to the development of novel and improved stem cell therapies for regenerative medicine.
As Principal Investigator at the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, I have trained DPhil students and postdocs, and undergraduates that visit the lab for short projects. Along my research I have been actively involved in coordinating the recruitment, training and supervision of DPhil students, as Director of Graduate Studies at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine and WIMM.
Key publications
-
A KMT2A-AFF1 gene regulatory network highlights the role of core transcription factors and reveals the regulatory logic of key downstream target genes.
Journal article
Harman JR. et al, (2021), Genome Res, 31, 1159 - 1173
-
The T-box transcription factor Eomesodermin governs haemogenic competence of yolk sac mesodermal progenitors.
Journal article
Harland LTG. et al, (2021), Nat Cell Biol, 23, 61 - 74
-
The genome-wide impact of trisomy 21 on DNA methylation and its implications for hematopoiesis.
Journal article
Muskens IS. et al, (2021), Nat Commun, 12
-
Microhomologies are prevalent at Cas9-induced larger deletions.
Journal article
Owens DDG. et al, (2019), Nucleic Acids Res, 47, 7402 - 7417
-
Blood stem cell-forming haemogenic endothelium in zebrafish derives from arterial endothelium.
Journal article
Bonkhofer F. et al, (2019), Nat Commun, 10
-
Kit ligand has a critical role in mouse yolk sac and aorta-gonad-mesonephros hematopoiesis.
Journal article
Azzoni E. et al, (2018), EMBO Rep, 19
-
An experimentally validated network of nine haematopoietic transcription factors reveals mechanisms of cell state stability
Journal article
Schutte J. et al, (2016), ELIFE, 5
-
Initial seeding of the embryonic thymus by immune-restricted lympho-myeloid progenitors.
Journal article
Luis TC. et al, (2016), Nat Immunol, 17, 1424 - 1435