Tissue Repair PhD student Leslie Nitsche wins 3MT competition at CRM

Three Minute Thesis competition at 2020 CRM Online retreat won by Tissue Repair PhD student Leslie Nitsche

Congratulations to Leslie Nitsche on winning the Three Minute Thesis competition during the Centre for Regenerative Medicine 2020 online retreat, beating 13 fellow CRM PhD students.

Contestants each had three minutes to explain their research in an engaging and clear way, as if presenting to a lay audience. Following fourteen highly enjoyable, clear and clever talks, Leslie was voted winner of the 2020 competition by the audience.

Leslie is a third year Tissue Repair PhD student in the lab of Prof Katrin Ottersbach at CRM. Leslie studies haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These cells have been used for the treatment of diseases including immune deficiencies and metabolic disorders, as well as bone marrow repair after radiation treatment. To harvest their full potential, scientists need to expand the understanding of HSC development and function. A vital part of HSC generation in the developing embryo is the transition of a subset of endothelial cells into blood cells. This occurs under the control of various factors within the cell and those present in the surrounding environment, the hematopoietic niche. As part of her PhD, Leslie investigates the role of the cell cycle in the endothelial to hematopoietic transition (EHT) through the cell cycle inhibitor p57Kip2 and the upstream transcription factor Gata3, a factor known to be involved in HSC generation.

In her entertaining talk Leslie drew several parallels between the transition of caterpillars to butterflies and the transition of endothelial cells to HSC within the human body.