Meritxell Huch - Biography#

Education

• 1996 – 2001 B.Sc. in Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Barcelona, Spain
  
• 2002 – 2003 M.Sc. in Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Spain
  
• 2003 – 2007 Ph.D. in Biomedicine, Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain
  

Personal Statement

My lab and myself, we have made seminal contributions to the field of adult stem cells, tissue regeneration and cancer. I pioneered the development of stomach, liver and pancreas organoid cultures from adult tissues. As independent group leader, my group was the first one to develop the human versions of liver and pancreas organoids as well as pioneered the establishment of liver organoids for disease modelling, particularly human liver monogenic diseases and liver cancer. Our research program is not only focused on development and improvement of organoid culture systems but also exploits these systems to elucidate basic biological questions in developmental biology, tissue regeneration and cancer. Our work on human tissues has the potential to dissect the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of human organs, human regeneration and the pathogenic mechanisms of human diseases.

Scientific Training/Positions

• 05/2025 - present Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
  
• 05/2024 - 04/2028 Honorary Professor, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
  
• 01/2024 - present Program Dean, International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Cell, Developmental and Systems Biology, Dresden, Germany
  
• 05/2022 - present Max Planck Director, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
  
• 2019 - 2022 Lise Meitner Max Planck Research Group Leader, Max Planck Gesellschaft, Dresden, Germany
  
• 2014 - 2020 Sir Henry Dale Wellcome Trust Group Leader, The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge;Affiliated Group Leader at The Wellcome Trust/MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute; Member of the Department of Physiology, Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, UK
  
• 2008 - 2014 Postdoctoral Fellow (Marie Curie Fellow-IEF), Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Advisor: Prof Hans Clevers
  
• 2003 - 2007 PhD Student (Spanish Ministry of Health fellow), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain; Advisor: Dr Cristina Fillat
  
• 2002 - 2003 Master of Advanced Studies Student (Catalan government fellow), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain; Advisor: Dr Cristina Fillat
  
• 2000 - 2001 Student Internship (Final year student fellow), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Spain

Prizes and Awards

• 2025 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2025 (Cross-Field)
• 2025 Elected member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2024 Otto Bayer Award (Bayer Foundation)
• 2023 Elected EMBO member
• 2023 ERC Consolidator Award
• 2022 Hilde Mangold Award. German Stem Cell Network (GSCN)
• 2019 The BINDER Innovation Prize. German Society for Cell Biology (DGZ)
• 2018 Researcher of the Year. Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards
• 2018 EMBO Young Investigator Award
• 2018 Dame Sheila Sherlock Prize. The British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL)
• 2018 The Women in Cell Biology Early Career Medal.The British Society for Cell Biology
• 2016 The Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence
• 2014 Wellcome-Beit Prize. Wellcome Trust
• 2014 NC3Rs International Prize. National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research, UK

Publications

Total number of publications: 90 articles and books with 33 manuscripts as senior author.
h-index = 53 (Google Scholar). Total Citations = 23596 (Mar. 2026, Google Scholar).

Selection of most relevant peer reviewed publications

Articles

• Bregante J, Don FK, Rost F, Gohr A, Belenguer G, Baenke F, Liabeuf D, Pöche J, Schafmayer C, Wilsch-Bräuninger M, Hinz S, Holleran KO, Stange DE, Huch M. Human liver cholangiocyte organoids capture the heterogeneity of in vivo liver ductal epithelium. Cell Rep. 2026 Jan 27;45(1):116786.
• Yuan L, Dawka S, Kim Y, Liebert A, Rost F, Arnes-Benito R, Baenke F, Götz C, Tsang DLH, Schuhmann A, Shevchenko A, Rezende de Castro R, Kim S, Sljukic A, Dowbaj AM, Shevchenko A, Seehofer D, Choi D, Damm G, Stange DE, Huch M. Human assembloids recapitulate periportal liver tissue in vitro. Nature. (2026) Feb;650(8101):438-449.
• Dowbaj AM, Sljukic A, Niksic A, Landerer C, Delpierre J, Yang H, Lahree A, Kühn AC, Beers D, Byrne HM, Seifert S, Harrington HA, Zerial M, Huch M. Mouse liver assembloids model periportal architecture and biliary fibrosis. Nature. (2025) Aug 644(8076):473-482.
• Belenguer G, Mastrogiovanni G, Pacini C, Hall Z, Dowbaj AM, Arnes-Benito R, Sljukic A, Prior N, Kakava S, Bradshaw CR, Davies S, Vacca M, Saeb-Parsy K, Koo BK, Huch M. RNF43/ZNRF3 loss predisposes to hepatocellular-carcinoma by impairing liver regeneration and altering the liver lipid metabolic ground-state. Nat Commun. (2022) Jan 17;13(1):334.
• Cordero-Espinoza L, Dowbaj AM, Kohler TN, Strauss B, Sarlidou O, Belenguer G, Pacini C, Martins NP, Dobie R, Wilson-Kanamori JR, Butler R, Prior N, Serup P, Jug F, Henderson NC, Hollfelder F, Huch M. Dynamic cell contacts between periportal mesenchyme and ductal epithelium act as a rheostat for liver cell proliferation. Cell Stem Cell. (2021) Nov 4;28(11):1907-1921.e8.
• Aloia L, McKie MA, Vernaz G, Cordero-Espinoza L, Aleksieva N, van den Ameele J, Antonica F, Font-Cunill B, Raven A, Aiese Cigliano R, Belenguer G, Mort RL, Brand AH, Zernicka-Goetz M, Forbes SJ, Miska EA, Huch M. Epigenetic remodelling licences adult cholangiocytes for organoid formation and liver regeneration. Nat Cell Biol. (2019) Nov;21(11):1321-1333.
• Broutier L, Mastrogiovanni G, Verstegen MM, Francies HE, Gavarró LM, Bradshaw CR, Allen GE, Arnes-Benito R, Sidorova O, Gaspersz MP, Georgakopoulos N, Koo BK, Dietmann S, Davies SE, Praseedom RK, Lieshout R, IJzermans JNM, Wigmore SJ, Saeb-Parsy K, Garnett MJ, van der Laan LJ, Huch M. Human primary liver cancer-derived organoid cultures for disease modeling and drug screening. Nat Med. (2017) Dec;23(12):1424-1435.
• Broutier L, Andersson-Rolf A, Hindley CJ, Boj SF, Clevers H, Koo BK, Huch M. Culture and establishment of self-renewing human and mouse adult liver and pancreas 3D organoids and their genetic manipulation. Nat Protoc. (2016) Sep;11(9):1724-43.
• Huch M, Gehart H, van Boxtel R, Hamer K, Blokzijl F, Verstegen MM, Ellis E, van Wenum M, Fuchs SA, de Ligt J, van de Wetering M, Sasaki N, Boers SJ, Kemperman H, de Jonge J, Ijzermans JN, Nieuwenhuis EE, Hoekstra R, Strom S, Vries RR, van der Laan LJ, Cuppen E, Clevers H. Long-Term Culture of Genome-Stable Bipotent Stem Cells from Adult Human Liver. Cell. (2015) Jan 15;160(1-2):299-312. $, co-corresponding author
• Huch M, Dorrell C, Boj SF, van Es JH, Li VSW, van de Wetering M, Sato T, Hamer K, Sasaki N, Finegold MJ, Haft A, Vries R, Grompe M, Clevers H. In vitro expansion of single Lgr5+ liver stem cells induced by Wnt-driven regeneration‬. Nature. (2013) Feb 14;494(7436):247-50.
• Barker N*, Huch M*, Kujala P, van de Wetering M, Snippert HJ, van Es JH, Sato T, Stange DE, Begthel H, van den Born M, Danenberg E, van den Brink S, Korving J, Abo A, Peters PJ, Wright N, Poulsom R, Clevers H. Lgr5(+ve) stem cells drive self-renewal in the stomach and build long-lived gastric units in vitro. Cell Stem Cell. (2010) Jan 8;6(1):25-36. *, equal contribution

Reviews

• Sljukic A, Green Jenkinson J, Niksic A, Prior N, Huch M. Advances in liver and pancreas organoids: how far we have come and where we go next. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. (2026) Jan;23(1):44-64.
• ISSCR standards for the use of human stem cells in basic research. Ludwig TE, Andrews PW, Barbaric I, Benvenisty N, Bhattacharyya A, Crook JM, Daheron LM, Draper JS, Healy LE, Huch M, Inamdar MS, Jensen KB, Kurtz A, Lancaster MA, Liberali P, Lutolf MP, Mummery CL, Pera MF, Sato Y, Shimasaki N, Smith AG, Song J, Spits C, Stacey G, Wells CA, Zhao T, Mosher JT. Stem Cell Reports. (2023) Sep 12;18(9):1744-1752.
• Lancaster MA, Huch M. Disease modelling in human organoids. Dis Model Mech. (2019) Jul 29;12(7):dmm039347.
• Huch M, Koo BK. Modeling mouse and human development using organoid cultures. Development. (2015) Sep 15;142(18):3113-25.

Books

• Huch M, Ming G.-L., Blanpain C, Serrano M. Células madre y organoides: Desvelando su potencial para avanzar hacia nuevos tratamientos = Stem cells and organoids: Unlocking their potential to understand and treat disease. Madrid: Fundación Ramón Areces: Springer Healthcare Ibérica, 2018.

Patents Granted

• 2025 Patent no.: EP25169082.2. Method for the generation of liver assembloids that recapitulate the in vivo human liver tissue architecture. Huch M, Yuan L, Dawka S., Sljukic A, Dowbaj A.
• 2023 Patent no.: EP23207475. Method for expanding liver cells. Huch M, Kim Y, Dawka S., Arnes R.
• 2015 Patent no.: PCT/EP2015/060815. Improved culture method for organoids. Huch M, Boj S, Clevers H. WO2015/173425.
• 2012 Patent no.: PCT/IB2012/052950. Culture medium for Stem Cells. Huch M, Sato T, Karthaus W, Clevers H. WO2012/168930.
• 2012 Patent no.: PCT/IB2011/002167. Liver organoid, uses thereof and culture method for obtaining them. Huch M, Clevers H. WO2012/014076.
• 2010 Patent no.: PCT/NL2010/000017. Culture medium for epithelial stem cells and organoids comprising said stem cells. Huch M, Sato T, Clevers H. WO2010/090513.
• 2009 Patent no.: P200900597. Adenovirus de replicación condicional efectivo en el tratamiento de tumores. (Conditional replication adenovirus for treatment of tumors). Huch M, Fillat, C.

Contributions to Science

Contributions to Tissue Regeneration

My lab has contributed in gaining better understanding of principles governing adult cellular plasticity during the damage-repair response, both at the molecular and also cellular scale. At the molecular scale we have identified active DNA-demethylation as a novel molecular mechanism by which adult, terminally differentiated and unipotent liver cells acquire cellular plasticity and reprogram to a bi-potent progenitor state, to enable tissue regeneration and organoid formation. At the cellular scale, we have found that liver mesenchymal: epithelial interactions are critical to regulate the proliferative state of liver cells. Interestingly, we have described that it is the total number of cell: cell interactions and not the absolute numbers of both populations, the key control of the epithelial cell response during regeneration. Our results reconcile the apparent paradox between a pro-quiescent homeostatic cellular niche and a pro-proliferative regenerating niche.

1. Dynamic cell contacts between periportal mesenchyme and ductal epithelium act as a rheostat for liver cell proliferation. Cordero-Espinoza L, Dowbaj AM, Kohler TN, Strauss B, Sarlidou O, Belenguer G, Pacini C, Martins NP, Dobie R, Wilson-Kanamori JR, Butler R, Prior N, Serup P, Jug F, Henderson NC, Hollfelder F, Huch M. Cell Stem Cell. (2021) Nov 4;28(11):1907-1921.e8.
2. Epigenetic remodelling licences adult cholangiocytes for organoid formation and liver regeneration. Aloia L, McKie MA, Vernaz G, Cordero-Espinoza L, Aleksieva N, van den Ameele J, Antonica F, Font-Cunill B, Raven A, Aiese Cigliano R, Belenguer G, Mort RL, Brand AH, Zernicka-Goetz M, Forbes SJ, Miska EA, Huch M. Nat Cell Biol. (2019) Nov;21(11):1321-1333.

Contributions to Liver Disease

My lab has pioneered the establishment of liver organoids from patient’s tissue, from a wide range of liver diseases from monogenic diseases to fibrosis and cancer. We have demonstrated their applicability for the discovery of novel cancer biomarkers and its suitability as a novel cellular platform for drug screening. Using this novel in vitro culture system we have been able to further elucidate mechanisms of human liver cancer and tumour relapse. We have recently found that mutations in RNF43/ZNRF3, two negative regulators of the Wnt pathway, induce intracellular lipid droplet accumulation cell autonomously to liver cancer cells, thus predisposing hepatocytes to develop cancer.

1. Human assembloids recapitulate periportal liver tissue in vitro. Yuan L, Dawka S, Kim Y, Liebert A, Rost F, Arnes-Benito R, Baenke F, Götz C, Tsang DLH, Schuhmann A, Shevchenko A, Rezende de Castro R, Kim S, Sljukic A, Dowbaj AM, Shevchenko A, Seehofer D, Choi D, Damm G, Stange DE, Huch M. Nature. (2025) in press.
2. RNF43/ZNRF3 loss predisposes to hepatocellular-carcinoma by impairing liver regeneration and altering the liver lipid metabolic ground-state. Belenguer G, Mastrogiovanni G, Pacini C, Hall Z, Dowbaj AM, Arnes-Benito R, Sljukic A, Prior N, Kakava S, Bradshaw CR, Davies S, Vacca M, Saeb-Parsy K, Koo BK, Huch M. Nat Comm. (2022) Jan 17;13(1):334.
3. Human primary liver cancer-derived organoid cultures for disease modeling and drug screening. Broutier L, Mastrogiovanni G, Verstegen MM, Francies HE, Gavarró LM, Bradshaw CR, Allen GE, Arnes-Benito R, Sidorova O, Gaspersz MP, Georgakopoulos N, Koo BK, Dietmann S, Davies SE, Praseedom RK, Lieshout R, IJzermans JNM, Wigmore SJ, Saeb-Parsy K, Garnett MJ, van der Laan LJ, Huch M. Nat Med. (2017) Dec;23(12):1424-1435.

Contributions to Organoid Development

My lab and I, we have made ground-breaking contributions to the organoid field, by pioneering the development of organoid models for stomach, liver and pancreas, for mouse and human, healthy and diseased tissues.

9. Human assembloids recapitulate periportal liver tissue in vitro. Yuan L, Dawka S, Kim Y, Liebert A, Rost F, Arnes-Benito R, Baenke F, Götz C, Tsang DLH, Schuhmann A, Shevchenko A, Rezende de Castro R, Kim S, Sljukic A, Dowbaj AM, Shevchenko A, Seehofer D, Choi D, Damm G, Stange DE, Huch M. Nature. (2025) in press 8. Mouse liver assembloids model periportal architecture and biliary fibrosis. Dowbaj AM, Sljukic A, Niksic A, Landerer C, Delpierre J, Yang H, Lahree A, Kühn AC, Beers D, Byrne HM, Seifert S, Harrington HA, Zerial M, Huch M. Nature. (2025) Aug 644(8076):473-482.
7. Dynamic cell contacts between periportal mesenchyme and ductal epithelium act as a rheostat for liver cell proliferation. Cordero-Espinoza L, Dowbaj AM, Kohler TN, Strauss B, Sarlidou O, Belenguer G, Pacini C, Martins NP, Dobie R, Wilson-Kanamori JR, Butler R, Prior N, Serup P, Jug F, Henderson NC, Hollfelder F, Huch M. Cell Stem Cell. (2021) Nov 4;28(11):1907-1921.e8.
6. Lgr5+ stem and progenitor cells reside at the apex of a heterogeneous embryonic hepatoblast pool. Prior N, Hindley CJ, Rost F, Meléndez E, Lau WWY, Göttgens B, Rulands S, Simons BD, Huch M. Development. (2019) Jun 12;146(12):dev174557.
5. Culture and establishment of self-renewing human and mouse adult liver and pancreas 3D organoids and their genetic manipulation. Broutier L, Andersson-Rolf A, Hindley CJ, Boj SF, Clevers H, Koo BK, Huch M. Nat Protoc. (2016) Sep;11(9):1724-43.
4. Long-Term Culture of Genome-Stable Bipotent Stem Cells from Adult Human Liver. $Huch M, Gehart H, van Boxtel R, Hamer K, Blokzijl F, Verstegen MM, Ellis E, van Wenum M, Fuchs SA, de Ligt J, van de Wetering M, Sasaki N, Boers SJ, Kemperman H, de Jonge J, Ijzermans JN, Nieuwenhuis EE, Hoekstra R, Strom S, Vries RR, van der Laan LJ, Cuppen E, Clevers H. Cell. (2015) Jan 15;160(1-2):299-312. $,co-corresponding.
3. Unlimited in vitro expansion of adult bi-potent pancreas progenitors through the Lgr5/R-spondin axis. Huch M*, Bonfanti P*, Boj SF*, Sato T*, Loomans CJ, van de Wetering M, Sojoodi M, Li VS, Schuijers J, Gracanin A, Ringnalda F, Begthel H, Hamer K, Mulder J, van Es JH, de Koning E, Vries RG, Heimberg H, Clevers H. EMBO J. (2013) Oct 16;32(20):2708-21.
2. In vitro expansion of single Lgr5+ liver stem cells induced by Wnt-driven regeneration‬. Huch M, Dorrell C, Boj SF, van Es JH, Li VSW, van de Wetering M, Sato T, Hamer K, Sasaki N, Finegold MJ, Haft A, Vries R, Grompe M, Clevers H. Nature. (2013) Feb 14;494(7436):247-50.
1. Lgr5(+ve) stem cells drive self-renewal in the stomach and build long-lived gastric units in vitro. Barker N*, Huch M*, Kujala P, van de Wetering M, Snippert HJ, van Es JH, Sato T, Stange DE, Begthel H, van den Born M, Danenberg E, van den Brink S, Korving J, Abo A, Peters PJ, Wright N, Poulsom R, Clevers H. Cell Stem Cell. (2010) Jan 8;6(1):25-36. *,equal contribution.

Selection of Most Important Invited Lectures

Keynote Lectures

• Dec-24 Mini-Symposium on Epigenetic mechanisms in human organoid disease models. Dresden, Germany
• Jun-24 Joint Summer Liver Academy Meeting (SLAM). Cape Coral, FL, USA
• Dec-22 Keynote Lecture Annual conference from the Italian association of cell culture (AICC). online
• Sep-22 Hilde Mangold Award & EMBO YIP Lecture from the German Stem Cell Network. Münster, Germany
• Jun-21 Presidential Symposium Invited Talk, International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). online
• Nov-20 Keynote Hans Popper Basic Science State-of-the Art lecture, American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). online
• Sep-20 Presidential Invite Keynote Speaker, 8th Annual German Stem Cell Network conference. online
• Sep-19 DGZ Binder Innovation Prize Talk. Tübingen, Germany
• Sep-18 Sheila Sherlock Award Lecture & Prize, BASL Annual Meeting. York, UK

Invited Talks

• Dec-25 Boundary Breaking Science Lecture, Bayer Foundation. Berlin, Germany
• Oct-25 2nd International Conference of Liver Pathobiology: From Bench to Bedside. Sissi, Crete, Greece
• Oct-25 6th International Conference on Stem Cells. Sissi, Crete, Greece
• Sep-25 CSHL Cell Fate Conversions Meeting. Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
• May-25 CRC 1348 Conference on Cellular interfaces across scales: from molecules to tissue dynamics. Münster, Germany
• Apr-25 Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute. Cambridge, UK
• Apr-25 The Discovery Centre (DISC) – AstraZeneca PLC. Cambridge, UK
• Apr-25 EMBO Young Investigator Lecture at EMBO Workshop on Liver and pancreas in metabolic disease: from pathways to therapies. Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain
• Feb-25 University of Göttingen. Göttingen, Germany
• Dec-24 University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh, UK
• Oct-24 33rd Hot Spring Harbor International Symposium. Fukuoka, Japan
• Oct-24 4th Epigenetics Conference. St. Julian’s, Malta
• Apr-24 Symposium on 3D Organ Modelling in Health and Disease. Leuven, Belgium
• Feb-24 EASL Liver Cancer Summit. Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• Dec-23 Berlin Stem Cell Club of the BSCC and GSCN. Berlin, Germany
• Oct-23 Scientific Organizer of the EMBO | EMBL Symposium: Organoids: modelling organ development and disease in 3D culture. Heidelberg, Germany
• Oct-23 International Conference on Stem Cells. Heraklion, Greece
• Jun-23 Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Department Seminar at Institut Pasteur. Paris, France
• Jun-23 Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology. Single Cell Biology: From Development to Cancer. Keystone, CO, USA
• Jun-23 Cold Spring Harbour Symposium. New York, NY, USA
• Mar-23 Center For Genomic Regulation 20th Anniversary. Barcelona,Spain
• Mar-23 Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research. Basel, Switzerland
• Feb-23 CUSTOM-RIKEN Organoid Symposium. Kobe, Japan
• Jan-23 MRI - Technische Universität München. Munich, Germany
• Oct-22 European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy Annual Congress; Edinburgh, UK
• Oct-22 2nd Crick Beddington Developmental Biology Symposium. London, UK
• Sep-22 EMBO Workshop on “The molecular and cellular basis of regeneration and tissue repair”. Barcelona, Spain
• Sep-22 Hydra XV: 2022. European Summer School on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine. Hydra, Greece
• Jul-22 INSERM. Paris, France
• Jun-22 Westlake Cell Press webinar. online
• Jun-22 Panelist of European Commission “The use of animals for scientific research in Europe”
• Jun-22 EMBL-IBEC Winter Conference 2022. Barcelona, Spain
• May-22 Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB) Conference 2022. online
• May-22 CNIO Distiguished Seminar Series. Madrid, Spain
• May-22 The Mark Foundation. Dedham, MA, USA
• Apr-22 Keystone Symposia on Engineering Multi-Cellular Living Systems. Silverthorne, CO, USA
• Jun-21 LifeTime Conference 2.0. Berlin, Germany
• Oct-20 Organizer of the EMBO-EMBL Organoid Meeting. Heidelberg, Germany
• Dec-19 Cold Spring Harbour Asia. Kobe, Japan
• Mar-19 GRC Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer. Ventura, CA, USA
• Dec-18 Functional Genomics 2018: Big Data to Clinic. Doha, Qatar
• Sep-18 EMBO | EMBL Symposium: Organoids: Modelling Organ Development and Disease in 3D culture. Heidelberg, Germany
• Jun-18 2nd International Conference on Tissue Repair, Regeneration, and Fibrosis. Chania, Greece
• Nov-17 Nature Conference on Regeneration. Milan, Italy

Funding

Fellowships

• 06/2019 - 04/2022 Lise Meitner Excellence Program Fellowship. Max Planck Gesellschaft (€500,000)
• 08/2014 - 09/2019 Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellowship (£1,000,000)
• 01/2014 - 08/2014 Wellcome Trust Recruitment Enhancement Award Fellowship (£100,000)
• 05/2009 - 04/2011 Marie Curie Fellowship (IEF). European Commission. EU/236954 (€161,162.47)
• 10/2002 - 10/2006 National Ministry of Health PhD Fellowship. “Beca de Formación en Investigación (BEFI)” Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain. 02/9155 (€60,000)
• 01/2002 - 10/2002 Autonomous Government of Catalonia PhD Fellowship “Formació en Investigació (FI)”, Catalonia, Spain. *2002FI-00745 (€9,736.44)
• 09/2000 - 06/2001 Final Year BSc Spanish Government Research Fellowship. Ministry of Science and Technology, Spain. BOE-A-2001-7672 (€2,100)

Grants

• 10/2025 - 09/2029 DFG Collaborative Research Centre / Transregio 412
• 07/2024 - 06/2027 LiSyM Cancer Phase II – Collaborative Project DEEP-HCC (€270,000)
• 04/2024 - 03/2028 DFG Forschungsgruppe FOR5628
• 03/2024 - 01/2027 ERA NET Transcan-3 BileCanMed
• 05/2023 - 01/2028 ERC Consolidator Grant
• 01/2023 - 12/2025 DFG Program Grant (no: 514150034)
• 12/2022 - 12/2025 Allen Distinguished Investigator Project Grant (€500,000)
• 07/2021 - 06/2024 LiSyM HCC project. BMBF Systems Medicine Initiative (€300,000)
• 01/2020 - present EMBO YIP (€15,000)
• 10/2017 - 01/2020 NC3Rs. Replacing liver cancer models by modeling human liver cancer in vitro (£218,177.60)
• 01/2016 - 12/2019 ECH2020 research infrastructureLSFM4LIFE: Production and characterization of endocrine cells derived from human pancreas organoids for Type1 diabetes (£800,000)

Fellows with Independent Positions

• Dr Anna Dowbaj (Feb 2025) Group Leader, Technical University Munich. Munich, Germany
• Dr Yohan Kim (Jan 2024) Assistant Professor, Sungkyunkwan University. Suwon, South Korea
• Dr German Belenguer (Nov 2022) Ramon y Cajal Independent Group Leader Fellow, University of Valencia. Valencia, Spain
• Dr Nicole Prior (Jun 2020) Lecturer at the University of Southampton. Southampton, UK
• Dr Luigi Aloia (Apr 2020) Group Leader, MRC LMCB, University College London. London, UK
• Dr Laura Broutier (Jun 2018) Group Leader, Centre Leon Bernard, Centre de Reserche en Cancerologie de Lyon, *Pediatric cancers & cell death team. Lyon, France

Elected Memberships

• 2025 - present German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2024 - present Fakultätsrat, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden
• 2023 - present European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
• 2018 - 2020 Ambassador of the British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB)

Boards

• 2026 - present Bayer Science & Education Foundation Science Council
• 2025 - present Scientific Advisory Board of IBMB
• 2025 - present Scientific Advisory Board of ASPIRE-AECC, Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer
• 2024 - present Scientific Advisory Board of ISREC, EPFL
• 2024 - present Steering Committee of the DcGC Dresden Genome Center
• 2023 - 2026 Reviewer Board for The Armenise-Harvard Foundation for early and mid-career fellowships
• 2023 - 2025 NCCR MSE Review Panel
• 2023 Review Board Karolinska Institute MWLC_Seed Grant Program
• 2022 - present CAMINO Recruitment Committee of the Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden
• 2022 - 2025 GSCN Extended Board
• 2022 Reviewer Board for INSERM Mecacell3D
• 2022 Committee of the International Stem Cell Guidelines task force (ISSCR)
• 2021 - 2023 ISSCR strategic planning committee
• 2020 - 2024 ISSCR Membership and International Outreach Committee
• 2020 - 2023 Reviewer Board for European Association for the Study of the Liver
• 2018 - 2020 Reviewer Board for The Armenise-Harvard Foundation for early and mid-career fellowships
• 2018 - 2020 ISSCR strategic planning committee

Editorial Boards

• 2025 Editor for FEBS Journal for Special issue on organoids
• 2025 Editor for Development journal for Special issue (Lifelong Development)
• 2022 - present Associate Editor for Hepatology
• 2021 - present Associate Editor for npj Regenerative Medicine, Nature publishing group
• 2021 - present Associate Editor Stem Cell Reports - ISSCR open access journal
• 2020 - present Member of Scientific Advisory Board of Cell Stem Cell Journal
• 2016 Editor Developmental Biology (special issue on organoids)
• 2016 Editor Current Pathobiology Reports (special issue on organoid cultures)
• 2014 - present Editor Cogent Biology

Career Breaks

• 07/2019 – 01/2020 Maternity leave. Child born on 22/08/2019
• 02/2016 – 10/2016 Maternity leave. Child born on 26/03/2016