Novel strategies to understand and treat craniofacial malformations

The formation of the head and face is a tightly regulated process, with variations from the genetic program leading to craniofacial defects. We have established a mouse model of craniofacial malformation that shows cleft lip and cleft palate upon inhibition of the retinoic acid pathway. Strikingly, removing the Gdf11 gene in this context is able to rescue these craniofacial defects. We are investigating the mechanisms underlying this genetic interaction, with the aim of harnessing this observation for therapeutical purposes. In this research project, you will be using mouse genetics, state-of-the-art imaging techniques (micro computed tomography and light-sheet microscopy, 3D image analysis and virtual reality softwares), tissue culture techniques (embryonic stem cell and neural crest cell cultures), as well as genomic techniques (RNA sequencing, ATACseq, bioinformatics). This project is suitable for PhD students, but can be tailored for Honours or Master students to tackle parts of it.