The team
Nesil Eşiyok
After receiving my MSc degree from the University of Göttingen (IMPRS Molecular Biology Graduate Program), I joined the Research Platform Degenerative Diseases as doctoral researcher in June 2021. Since April 2022, I am also a member of Research Group Brain Development and Evolution. Focus of my PhD research is the development of primate brain organoids with vascular-like structures to provide advanced 3D in vitro models for neurodevelopmental and evolutionary research.
Lidiia Tynianskaia
I am a doctoral student of the International Max Planck Research School Program in Molecular Biology. Under the supervision of Dr. Heide, I focus on studying the evolutionary role of the zinc finger protein family in neocortical expansion using cerebral primate organoids as a research model.
Neringa Liutikaite
Having been introduced to the world of brain organoids in a lab rotation with Michael, I have been part of the Heide lab since October 2022, when I started my master’s thesis in the IMPRS Molecular Biology Program. In May 2023, I started my PhD thesis, in which I am exploring the role of an old-world-monkey-specific zinc finger protein in primate brain evolution and development.
Mateo Bastidas Betancourt
I am currently applying comparative transcriptomic pipelines to find and test candidate genes whose expression changes in neural progenitor cells may have driven brain evolution. Additionally, I am seeking to use brain organoids to assess the functional relevance of a zinc finger transcription factor, which is specific to great apes and has been shown to be overexpressed in human neural progenitor cells.
Current MSc students
Ana Trpchevska