Internist-haematologist Prof. Marc Raaijmakers has been appointed visiting professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. His teaching assignment: the biology of stem cell niches. "We want to understand the role of stem cell niches in the development of cancer."
The appointment marks the start of a more intensive collaboration between the Institute for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine at the Karolinska Institute and the Department of Hematology at Erasmus MC, says Raaijmakers. ‘With joint research projects, we hope to further unravel the role of stem cell niches. We share our insights on stem cell niches and they bring their expertise on regenerative medicine and immunology.”
Stem cell niches
The stem cell niche is the microenvironment in which stem cells live. 'Stem cells don't live in a vacuum,' explains Raaijmakers. “They are surrounded by specialized cells that help them function and survive. We know that stem cells are important for repairing tissue damage and can play a key role in the development of cancer. We suspect that the stem cell niche influences these processes.”
Raaijmakers' group has been researching stem cell niches for years and recently published an article about the role of these niches in the development of acute myeloid leukemia. Raaijmakers says that they are also interested in these stem cell niches in Stockholm. ‘They also want to understand the role of stem cell niches in the repair of tissue damage and the development of preleukaemic diseases, such as myelodysplastic syndrome. By conducting research together and exchanging students, we hope to be able to unravel this.'
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