Research

Our projects

Our lab aims to answer fundamental questions on the impact of transposable elements on human embryonic development and disease, with a special focus on endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). While ERVs are typically silenced in somatic tissues due to their deleterious potential, they become transiently active during early mammalian embryogenesis and re-emerge in pathological contexts such as cancer and neurodegeneration. What are the functions of these genetic elements? What are the molecular mechanisms controlling their activity? To answer these questions and decode the ‘dark genome’, our lab utilizes 2D and 3D in vitro models of human embryogenesis combined with genome editing and quantitative tools.