With finance totaling €328 million, the EU aims to support experienced post-doctoral researchers working at top universities and research organizations in Europe and the rest of the world, as well as in the private sector and SMEs. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowships allow researchers to work on projects in all research fields while receiving training and supervision to enhance their skills and boost their careers. The Fellows supported will work on research projects that tackle global challenges.
Heidar Heidari Khoei, Rivron Lab
With his project, Heidar aims to investigate the first physical contact between the embryo and the uterus - a highly complex and timely coordinated process. The small size of the early embryo (1/10th of a hair) and its inaccessibility in the womb make this moment a black box. With the MSCA fellowship, he will use blastoids and endometrial organoids formed from stem cells to model implantation, all in a dish.
Federico Teloni, Gerlich Lab
Repair of DNA damage is crucial for the proper survival of our cells. Nevertheless, how this process interacts with the three-dimensional organization of the DNA is not yet understood. Through this project, Federico aims to uncover how DNA architecture contributes to DNA damage repair.
Laura Gomez Fernandez, Tachibana Lab
One of the most intriguing questions in biology is how a single cell (zygote) is generated that has the potential to give rise to all cell types of an organism, known as totipotency. The overall purpose of Laura´s project is to gain mechanistic insights into the establishment of the totipotent state, studying on the one hand whether and how epigenetic reprogramming modulates the 3D chromatin structure in zygotes and on the other hand, trying to identify factors required for zygotic genome activation.
Flavia Corsi, Golobordko Lab
The three-dimensional organization of sister chromatids contributes to essential cellular functions, like DNA repair, and chromosome segregation during mitosis. However, it is still unclear how such spatial organization is achieved. With her MSCA fellowship, Flavia thus aims to understand the mechanisms that govern the three-dimensional organization of sister chromatids using biophysical models.