The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Two new principal investigators at Lund Stem Cell Center

Björn Nilsson and Nicholas Leigh
Björn Nilsson and Nicholas Leigh

We are very happy to announce that two new PIs have joined Lund Stem Cell Center!

 

Björn Nilsson is Professor of Clinical Immunology at the Medical Faculty of Lund University, and the Head of the Division of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine at the Department of Laboratory Medicine. He is also a visiting researcher at the Broad Institute (Cambridge, MA) and now a member of Lund Stem Cell Center.

The Nilsson lab is interested in how genetic variation influences blood cell formation and blood cancer risk. The research group is markedly multi-disciplinary, and comprises 16 members with complementary expertise (clinical, computational, experimental). Their output includes clinically implemented discoveries, including contributions to our understanding of genetic predisposition for hematologic malignancies, the genetic regulation of immunoglobulin levels and the computational analysis of genomics data. In addition to his scientific work, Björn has an almost life-long interest in computer science and algorithm theory and received a Techn. Lic. degree in Applied Mathematics from Lund University.

Nicholas Leigh will be joining the Division of Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy at the Department of Laboratory Medicine in the spring as a Wallenberg research fellow. Nicholas holds a B.S. in Biology from Lafayette College in Easton, PA and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Roswell Park Cancer Institute/SUNY Buffalo. Previously a research fellow in the Whited lab at Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Nicholas has recently started up his own lab, the focus of which is the study of how the immune system contributes to limb regeneration.

Following an injury, humans are able to heal wounds, but are left with a scar. This limited regenerative ability is also seen following the amputation of a limb, where humans are unable to regenerate the lost limb. In marked contrast, salamanders are able to fully regenerate limbs following amputation. The reasons for why salamanders are able to regenerate entire limbs and humans cannot are not understood. The Leigh lab will be trying to discover what allows salamanders to make such an incredible response, working towards a greater understanding of how the immune system promotes and permits limb regeneration and will identify the optimal environment that facilitates regeneration. In the future, this will allow for therapies and interventions designed to harness the immune system to promote regenerative responses in patients.

Welcome to Lund Stem Cell Center Björn and Nicholas!