Category: Groups

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Erasmus MC Placenta Lab

Departments of Neonatology & Pharmacology

Main placenta-related topics:

At the Erasmus MC Placenta Lab, we aim to dismantle placental alterations in pregnancy-related disorders and uncover new therapeutic targets to improve fetal and neonatal health. We utilize various human placenta ex vivo models to study the transfer of (novel) drugs over the placenta as well as their effects on the placenta. A close collaboration between the departments of Neonatology, Pharmacology, Gynecology and Pathology allows us to execute this research with placentas from both uncomplicated as well as pathological pregnancies, estimating the safety and understanding the mechanisms of action of drugs in specifically those placentas that are aberrant.

Techniques & Technologies:

  • Dual-sided ex vivo cotyledon perfusion
  • Wire myography
  • Placenta explants
  • Trophoblast organoids

Principal Investigators

  • Prof. Dr. Irwin. K.M. Reiss
  • Prof. Dr. A.H. Jan Danser
  • Dr. Sinno Simons

PhD students & Postdocs

  • Dr. Michelle Broekhuizen
  • Olivier Schäffers
  • Lunbo Tan
  • Ans Kluivers
  • Madhavi Harhangi
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University of Rome “Tor Vergata”

Department of Biomedicine and Prevention

Collaborators

Main placenta-related topics:

§ Identification and characterization of factors involved in placental morphogenesis and development of placental diseases

§ Development of in vitro models simulating the human placental barrier

Techniques & Technologies:

•Development of murine trophoblast stem cell cultures

•Culture of murine and human trophoblast stem cells

•Culture of Placental Villi

•Isolation and culture of human trophoblast cells from term placentas

Principal Investigators

  • Luisa Campagnolo, PhD
  • Micol Massimiani, PhD

PhD students & Postdocs

  • Valentina Lacconi, PhD
  • Ilenia Carriero
  • Claudia Bianco
  • Dolores Lobresca

Collaborators
“Catholic University of the Sacred Heart”

  • Silvia Salvi, MD, PhD
  • Stefano Fruci, MD Federica Totaro, MD

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Erasmus MC. Department of Obstetrics and Gynacology

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Main placenta-related topics:

I have a broad training as a general obstetrician, which was followed by specialization in perinatal medicine. I have extensive and broad experience in the performance and interpretation of US scanning. From 2013 on I have been working as a consultant in the Erasmus MC. I have been a part of a research group with long standing and vast experience in embryonic and placental growth trajectories. Data were obtained from an ongoing periconception observational hospital cohort study (Rotterdam Periconception Cohort/Predict study) as well as a population-based cohort study in which I am involved in as a co-investigator. My research focuses on three dimensional (3D) ultrasound (US) and virtual reality (VR) to investigate utero-placental vasculature development in relation to placental health and pregnancy outcome.

Techniques & Technologies:
• 3D Power Doppler

•Virtual Reality Imaging

•Advanced Image Processing

•Artificial Intelligence

Principal Investigators

  • Prof. E. Steegers, MD PhD
  • Prof. R. Steegers-Theunissen, MD PhD
  • M.Rousian, MD PhD

PhD students & Postdocs

  • I.Reijnders, MD, PhD
  • E.de Vos, MD, PhD student
  • W.Bastiaansen, PhD student

Technicians

  • A. Koning, PhD

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Particles@Barriers lab

Department Materials meet Life, Empa, St.Gallen, Switzerland

Empa – Particles-Biology Interactions – Particlesatbarrier

Main placenta-related topics:

the placenta). In particular, we are interested in the correlation of physicochemical particle properties with barrier uptake and translocation and their biological effects. To achieve results of high predictive value, we develop and employadvanced human in vitro and ex vivo models (ex vivo placenta perfusion, co-culture transfer model, 3D microtissues, microphysiolgical co-culture model). Our research is pivotal for the safe design and use of nanomaterials in industrial, commercial and medical applications and the protection of vulnerable populations. 

Principal Investigator

  • Tina Buerki-Thurnherr, PhD

PhD students & Postdocs

  • Battuja Dugershaw-Kurzer
  • Lea Furer

Technicians

  • Yvette Hannig

Techniques & Technologies:

  • Ex vivo placenta perfusion, placental explants, primary cells, co-culture organoids, co-culture transfer models
  • Nanosafety and nanomedicine in pregnancy
  • Placental translocation and nonomaterials
  • Identification of SARs (structure activity relationships) and toxicity mechanisms of nanomaterials
  • Nanoparticle characterization
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Research Centre for Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo

Oslo PregnancyBiobank – Oslo universitetssykehus (oslo-universitetssykehus.no)

Main placenta-related topics:

Oslo Pregnancy Biobank has since 2001 recruited women  during pregnancy/delivery (incl. placenta and decidual tissue collection) and 1-8 years after their index pregnancy. Our long term goal is to improve maternal and fetal health, and use pregnancy findings (eg. Placenta-related biomarkers) to identify individuals at excessive risk for long-term disease. We seek to determine the mechanisms linking placental dysfunction and later female cardiovascular health problems, and to identify new targets for early prevention of CVD in young women.

Another main placenta-related  topic of the group is senescent/postterm placentas and their biomarkers.

Techniques & Technologies:
• Diagnosing uteroplacental acute athorosis (IHC)
• Microchimerism and link to atherosclerosis
• Angiogenic biomarkers

Principal Investigators
• Anne Cathrine (Annetine) Staff
• Meryam Sugulle

PhD students & Postdocs
• Daniel Pitz Jacobsen, postdoc
• Kjartan Moe, MD, PhD
• Patji Alnaes-Katjavivi, MD; PhD
• PhD students:
• Heidi E. Fjeldstad
• Sophie Bowe
• Birgitte Mitlid-Mork
• Ingrid Fosheim

Technicians
• Lise Ø Levy

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BREED – Biology of Reproduction, Environment, Epigenetics and Development

The BREED unit
https://www6.jouy.inrae.fr/breed_eng/

The BREED unit is a large research unit (>90 people) gathering researchers specializing in biomedical, veterinary and fundamental fields. It is primarily attached to the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) but also to Paris-Saclay university (UPSAY), Versailles-Saint Quentin university (UVSQ), and The National Veterinary School of Alfort (ENVA). Its research focuses on the development of the mammalian embryo from the formation of the egg cell to birth and development to adulthood. Projects range from fundamental studies on the functioning of the genome during embryo and fetal growth to applied research on the effects of the environment at large on development in the agronomic, veterinary and biomedical fields. The scientific objective is to understand and control the mechanisms of epigenetic programming during prenatal life, leading to the birth of a healthy, fertile and robust individual, able to adapt to changes in his environment.

The unit is organized into 5 research teams supported by an administrative team and shared services and platforms. One team is specialised in placental research.

The Placenta, Environment and Programming of Phenonypes (PEPPS) team is particularly dedicated to placental function. It is composed of 10 permanent staff members, with expertise in placental and animal physiology, medical imaging, histology, morphometry, lipidology, endocrinology and cellular and molecular biology. In addition, the team develops original approaches in gestation microscopy and imaging.

Unit members working on placenta

Researchers

  • Paul Berweiler
  • Pascale Chavatte-Palmer
  • Anne Couturier-Tarrade
  • Marie-Noëlle Dieudonné
  • Maria Flores-Sanabria
  • Delphine Rousseau-Ralliard

PhD Students

  • Emilie Derisoud (3rd year)
  • Marta Hita (1st year)
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Placenta groups

EPG gathers many groups working in research or in clinics or both, on human placenta but also on various animal and cellular models. The placenta of domestic and wild animals is also studied, both for veterinary purposes and to understand why this temporary organ is so variable in shape and organisation between species.

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Jena Placenta Lab

Department of Obstetrics, Jena University Hospital, Germany

www.placenta-labor.de

Main Placenta-Related Topics:

We are a group of international scientists with diverse backgrounds and interests who perform research in several areas of human reproduction and pregnancy. Four group leaders and their teams constitute the Placenta Lab.

Our research focuses on different aspects of human reproduction: Physiology of the human placenta, function and regulation of placental trophoblast and immune cells, regulation of placental angiogenesis, pathological pregnancies and placentas, communication of placenta with maternal immune and neural cells via extracellular vesicles and non-coding RNA, effects of pollutants on maternal health and pregnancy outcome, aspects of preparation of the uterus for embryo implantation and placentation with emphasis on immunological factors and cells, physiology of the female reproductive tract, placenta toxicology and animal testing alternatives.

Head of the Lab

Prof. Udo Markert, MD

Group Leaders

  • Prof. Tanja Groten, MD
  • Priv.-Doz. Diana M Morales Prieto, PhD
  • André Schmidt, PhD
  • Astrid Schmidt, PhD

Special Techniques & Technologies

  • Placenta perfusion
  • Isolation of extracellular vesicles
  • Placenta explants
  • Organ-on-chip models
  • Spheroid models and other 3D cell cultures

PhD Students & Postdocs

  • Jose M Murrieta-Coxca, PhD
  • Silke Große, PhD
  • Jana Pastuschek
  • Paulina Fuentes
  • Julian Henao
  • Lingyu Wei
  • Hephzibah Winter
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Reproductive Biology Laboratory, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands

Main placenta-related topics:

The research of our team focusses on the functional genomics and epigenetics of proper placental development during pregnancy as this is critical for the delivery of a healthy baby. We use human models systems (trophoblast stem cells, cell lines, organoids, placental explants) to investigate these developments normally occurring in the first trimester of human pregnancy. Additionally, situations leading to a dysfunctional placenta (e.g. reduced trophoblast invasion) causing complications like pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth restriction are simulated, providing more insight in the origin of these events. Secondly, our team performs translational research on placental cells isolated from Pap smears collected from pregnant women to investigate if this can be used as a less invasive alternative to chorionic villous sampling to detect monogenic diseases.

Techniques & Technologies:

  • Placental cell, explant and organoid culture
  • Trophoblast Retrieval and Isolation from the Cervix (TRIC)
  • CRISPR-CAS
  • RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics
  • DNA methylation analysis

Principal Investigators

PhD students & Postdocs

  • Hajar Hassani Lahsinou
  • Febilla Fernando
  • Danai Georgiadou
  • Jantine van Voorden

Technicians

  • Remco Keijser
  • Souad Boussata