Live cell imaging to illuminate the inner secrets of pluripotency

The transformation of a mammalian embryo from a tiny soccer ball-like structure into a newborn with four limbs, a beating heart and big bright eyes is one of the most remarkable and fundamental processes of life. Inside the soccer ball-like embryo resides a handful of “all-rounder” cells, known as pluripotent cells, which can give rise to any type of cell in the adult body. Enigmatically, the capacity for pluripotency is lost in the embryo less than one week after conception. But why? Knowing precisely how pluripotency is controlled can transform the way we think about how cells behave during development and in adulthood. By looking into the inside of single pluripotent cells of the living mouse embryo or human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) using cutting-edge imaging technologies, this project will visualise how the inner organisation of organelles and the microtubule cytoskeleton contributes of the astonishing capabilities of such “all-rounder” cells. Findings from this study have the potential to be applied to technologies for engineering cell fates, for sorting cell subtypes, as well as for the fast and accurate detection of abnormal embryos. Main techniques that will be learned: Microscope techniques, computational data analysis, mouse embryo handling, molecular cloning including PCR, plasmid transformation, in vitro synthesis of RNA as well as cell culture techniques and cell transfections.