The liver tissues of Kerstin Schneeberger

Who are you and what do you do?
"My name is Kerstin Schneeberger, I work as a postdoc in the liver group at the Veterinary Faculty. During my PhD at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital (WKZ), I studied the stem cells of the intestine, and applied organoids (mini-intestines) for disease modeling. Now, during my postdoc, I am applying my expertise in stem cell biology for Tissue Engineering. We are combining organoids with biofabrication techniques in order to create functional liver tissues, which can be used to predict toxic side-effects of new drugs in vitro. I hope that one day, we can also generate complex liver tissues that are suitable for transplantations." 

Where is this work spot?
"Our lab is located in the Jeanette Donker-Voetgebouw (Yalelaan). For the bioprinting part, we work closely together with the Biofabrication Facility, which is located in the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (RMCU), within the new building of the Hubrecht Institute."

What is interesting about your research?
"Doing research at Utrecht University is an intrinsic motivation for me, I especially like the intellectual freedom and challenge that is associated with it. I really love my work, stimulating discussions with colleagues, and I am always very excited to see new results.

"I like that my projects are a combination of basic and translational research, and that I can apply a variety of very advanced techniques, such as organoid culture and bioprinting."