User:Maarten

As a postdoc in the Panfilio lab at the University of Cologne, Germany, I am currently establishing our light sheet microscope (Stelzer Lab/ EMBL model mDSLM09) to characterize embryonic development in the emerging model insects Tribolium castaneum (the red flour beetle) and Oncopeltus fasciatus (the milkweed bug).



In particular, we are interested in understanding: (1) how the different tissue types (the two extraembryonic epithelia and the embryo) are physically coordinated during morphogenetic movements, and (2) how cell shape changes and cellular rearrangements within the extraembryonic tissues contribute to overall changes in topography.

Previous to my current position, I worked as a post-doc in the McGregor lab at Oxford Brookes University, UK. From 2005-2008 I did my PhD research on the evolution and development of the spider silk producing system, under supervision of Professor Wim Damen, at the University of Cologne.