"I find artists' creativity inspiring, and I hope to apply some of it to science"

Interview with new group leader Raquel Fueyo.

Raquel Fueyo joined the MPIMG in December 2025. Previously, she was a postdoctoral scientist in Joanna Wysocka's laboratory at Stanford University. The goal of her lab is to answer fundamental questions about the impact of transposable elements on human embryonic development and disease. We talked with Raquel about what drew her to transposon biology, her lab's work culture, and how she finds inspiration for her science in art. 

Raquel, your lab will work on transposable elemente in early embryogenesis. What first drew you to transposon biology? 

I did my PhD in enhancer biology, particularly in how the non-coding genome activates genes. I soon learned that most of our enhancers have an endogenous retrovirus underneath them. These elements play a key role in the evolution and emergence of enhancers. During my postdoctoral studies, I wanted to continue studying the non-coding genome, so I switched to Joanna Wysocka's lab, which used a model of endogenous retroviruses in pluripotency. One fascinating result from her lab was the discovery of viral particles in human embryos. This discovery convinced me to pursue that field and study these viral transposons in early embryogenesis.

What kind of model systems or experimental approaches do you feel will uniquely let you ask these questions, and why did you choose them?

I think I arrived in this field at just the right time to allow us to ask these types of questions. Until the advent of CRISPR, manipulating endogenous retroviruses was very difficult, if not impossible. Now, we can cut and reintroduce them in other places, which allows us to study their biology. As I mentioned, I am also interested in the functions of transposons during mammalian and human embryo development. Of course, we won’t perform experiments on human embryos for legal and ethical reasons. However, novel model systems that mimic the human embryo allow us to study transposons in human embryogenesis. Combining these two methods will enable much of the research in my lab.

The ones you mentioned were past technical breakthroughs. What are current technical or conceptual bottlenecks? 

Most functional studies have been conducted in bulk, meaning that many transposons are targeted simultaneously. Transposons are repetitive by nature because they are the product of copying and pasting. This makes targeting only one very difficult when using CRISPR. In my lab, we want to investigate the function of transposons at the single-locus level. To accomplish this, we are developing tools and novel CRISPR-Cas9 methods to target transposons individually.

You transitioned from postdoc to independent group leader which also means building a team. On an average Monday afternoon, what do you want your lab culture to feel like?

I want our lab culture to be rigorous. That's very important to me. I want to create a positive lab environment where everyone can be themselves as long as they respect each other. I don't want to give a lot of instructions about how people should behave. I would also like to be a PI whose door is open as much as possible. I think a lot of problems in academia stem from a lack of communication.

If we now leave the lab - what tends to reach out to you outside and do you see any connection between that and how you think scientifically? 

I love art, as well as going to movies and exhibitions. I find artists' creativity inspiring, and I hope to apply some of it to science. I also love meeting friends and having a good laugh. I think my friends are very funny, and their sense of humor inspires me to be creative in our conversations.

Arguably there are connections between science and art but how much creativity is there really in science? I feel that science is more rigorous and more restrained then art sometimes. 

I believe that solving problems and connecting ideas in science has a lot to do with creativity. I give you one example: I've always wanted to try a little thought experiment during lab retreats, and now that I have my own lab, I might do so. Take a random paper and connect it to your project through two or three experiments. I think great ideas in science sometimes come from this out-of-the-box thinking or from a random conversation with someone who works in a completely different field. Creativity is key for that.

What’s your message to the world? 

At a time when it seems that critical thinking is lacking worldwide, we should all strive to be more critical, both in our experiments, but also with the world. And please read more. Everyone should read more.

 

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The group is supported by the Max Planck Förderstiftung.