Functional Embryo Genomics

Human development starts from a single fertilized oocyte that has the potential to develop into both foetal and extraembryonic tissues. After fertilisation and during the next few cell divisions (cleavage), the maternal developmental control transits from the oocyte to the embryo when maternal RNAs and proteins are selectively degraded, and embryonic genome activates. Early embryo development involves dramatic changes in epigenetic and transcriptional landscapes. How are these changes orchestrated in early human development? How is the oocyte reprogrammed to a totipotent state? What controls the first cell fate specifications in early human embryos? And why does development sometimes fail or does not start? We are a team of scientists passionate to ask and solve questions about early human embryo development. We use human embryos that have been consented for research together with cellular embryo model systems and latest technologies to generate, integrate, and interpret information about human development. 

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