Developmental Biology Program

The Lorenz Studer Lab

Lorenz Studer, MD

Director, Center for Stem Cell Biology

Professor

Our laboratory aims at exploiting recent advances in stem cell biology to develop radically new therapies for degenerative disease and cancer. The main focus in the lab is on the biology and application of human embryonic stem (ES) and human induced pluripotent (iPS) cells. Pluripotent stem cells can provide a truly unlimited source for deriving therapeutically relevant cell types for applications in human disease modeling or regenerative medicine.

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Research Projects

Featured News

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons

MSK Researchers Hack Neurons’ Internal Clocks To Accelerate the Study of Neurological Diseases

New research led by MSK has uncovered a way to “hack” neurons' internal clocks to speed up their development. The approach promises to accelerate research into neurological disease.

A collage of photos showing a zebrafish with GFP-labeled melanocytes, magnified GFP-labeled melanocytes, and hPSC-derived melanocytes growing in a dish.

Why Are Only Some Cells ‘Competent’ to Form Cancer? MSK Scientists Say Context Is Key

Experiments with zebrafish and human pluripotent stem cells reveal the necessary ingredients, besides genetic mutations, that fuel the development of melanoma.

Q&A

Taking Aim at Parkinson’s Disease: A Conversation with Developmental Biologist Lorenz Studer

In an interview in September 2020, Dr. Studer spoke about what he hopes he and his fellow investigators can accomplish with this generous support.

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Publications Highlights

Ciceri G, Baggiolini A, Cho HS, Kshirsagar M, Benito-Kwiecinski S, Walsh RM, Aromolaran KA, Gonzalez-Hernandez AJ, Munguba H, Koo SY, Xu N, Sevilla KJ, Goldstein PA, Levitz J, Leslie CS, Koche RP, Studer L. An epigenetic barrier sets the timing of human neuronal maturation. Nature. 2024 Jan 31. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06984-8. Online ahead of print.PMID: 38297124

Hergenreder E, Minotti AP, Zorina Y, Oberst P, Zhao Z, Munguba H, Calder EL, Baggiolini A, Walsh RM, Liston C, Levitz J, Garippa R, Chen S, Ciceri G, Studer L. Combined small-molecule treatment accelerates maturation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons. Nat Biotechnol. 2024 Jan 2. doi: 10.1038/s41587-023-02031-z. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38168993

Fan Y, Hackland J, Baggiolini A, Hung LY, Zhao H, Zumbo P, Oberst P, Minotti AP, Hergenreder E, Najjar S, Huang Z, Cruz NM, Zhong A, Sidharta M, Zhou T, de Stanchina E, Betel D, White RM, Gershon M, Margolis KG, Studer L. hPSC-derived sacral neural crest enables rescue in a severe model of Hirschsprung’s disease. Cell Stem Cell. 2023 Mar 2;30(3):264-282.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2023.02.003.PMID: 36868194

Yang L, Kim TW, Han Y, Nair MS, Harschnitz O, Zhu J, Wang P, Koo SY, Lacko LA, Chandar V, Bram Y, Zhang T, Zhang W, He F, Pan C, Wu J, Huang Y, Evans T, van der Valk P, Titulaer MJ, Spoor JKH, Furler O’Brien RL, Bugiani M, D J Van de Berg W, Schwartz RE, Ho DD, Studer L, Chen S. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes dopaminergic neuron senescence. Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Feb 1;31(2):196-211.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2023.12.012. Epub 2024 Jan 17.PMID: 38237586

Giacomelli E, Vahsen BF, Calder EL, Xu Y, Scaber J, Gray E, Dafinca R, Talbot K, Studer L. Human stem cell models of neurodegeneration: From basic science of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to clinical translation. Cell Stem Cell. 2022 Jan 6;29(1):11-35. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2021.12.008.PMID: 34995492

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People

Lorenz Studer, MD

Director, Center for Stem Cell Biology

Professor

The Studer laboratory investigates human stem cells as tools to understand normal and pathological development in the nervous system and to develop cell-based strategies for regenerative medicine.
MD, Universitat Bern

[email protected]: Email Address
212-639-6126: Office Phone

Members

Silvia K. Benito Kwiecinski — Silvia Benito Kwiecinski
Research Fellow

Gabriele Ciceri, Ph.D. — Gabriele Ciceri
Senior Research Scientist

James Hackland
Senior Research Scientist

Luz Jubierre Zapater — Luz Jubierre
Senior Research Scientist

Johannes Jungverdorben, PhD — Johannes Jungverdorben
Senior Research Scientist

Nathalie Saurat, PhD — Nathalie Saurat
Senior Research Scientist

Ryan Walsh, PhD — Ryan Walsh
Senior Research Scientist

Zhe Yang, PhD
Research Fellow - NYSTEM Training Award at the CSCB

Berkiye Sonustun
Graduate Student, Rita L. Montalcini Fellow

Kaylin Sevilla Lopez
Research Technician

Trisha Sikder

Research Technician

Danaysy Frias
Senior Administrative Assistant

Lab Alumni

TaeWan Kim, PhD — TaeWan Kim
Senior Research Scientist

Elizabeth L Calder, PhD
Senior Research Scientist

Oliver Härschnitz, MD, PhD
Research Associate - NYSTEM Training Award at the CSCB

Marietta Saldias Montivero

Lab Technician - currently: MD/PhD student

Daniela Cornacchia, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Polina Oberst, PhD — Polina Oberst
Research Associate

Jason Tchieu
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Assistant Professor, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH

Scott J. Callahan
Vice President, Director of Medical Strategy at Havas Health & You, New York, NY

Gustav Cederquist
Graduate Student – currently: Resident in Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Eveline Gutzwiller
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Neurology resident, Mount Sinai Medical School, New York, NY

Nadja Zeltner, PhD — Nadja Zeltner
Postdoctoral fellow – currently, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia

Faranak Fattahi, MS — Faranak Fattahi
Graduate Student - currently, Sandler Faculty Fellow, UCSF

Michelle Vincendeau
Postdoctoral Fellow – currently: Group leader, Helmholtz Zentrum, Munich, Germany

Bastian Zimmer, PhD — Bastian Zimmer
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Group leader, Evotec, Hamburg, Germany

Mohamed Soliman
Medical Student, Weill Cornell - currently: Physician/Psychiatrist, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Sun Young Chung
Lab Technician - currently: medical student, Harvard University

Elsa Vera
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Digital Intelligence at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Yuchen Qi
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Consultant, The Boston Consulting Group

Sarah Kishinevsky
Graduate Student – currently, Director of the Dean's Entrepreneurship Lab at Weill Cornell

Julius Steinbeck
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Freelance Neurologist and Stem Cell Expert, Germany

Yosif Martin Ganat
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Research Investigator, Arvinas,, New Haven, CT

Yen Chun "Wenna" Chen
Research Technician

Sonja Kriks
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently Senior Scientist at Neurona Therapeutics Inc

Jae-won Shim
Postdoctoral fellow - currently: Assistant Prof., Soonchunhayng University

Stuart Chambers
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently, Senior Scientist at Amgen

Justine D. Miller
Principal Scientist at AbbVie, Boston, MA

Fabien Lafaille
PhD student – currently: Senior Scientist, BlueRock Thearpeutics, New York, NY

Yvonne Gruber Mica
Manager, Field Applications - Cell Biology Thermo Fisher Scientific New York, NY

Inna Lipchina
Graduate Student - currently: Senior Scientist, Cellarity

Gabsang Lee
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Associate Prof., Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Asif Maroof
Graduate Student - currently: Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Yechiel Elkabetz
Postdoctoral fellow - Currently: Principal Investigator, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics,

Sabrina Desbordes
Postdoctoral fellow - currently: Assistant Prof., Helmholtz Institute

Tiziano Barberi
Postdoctoral Fellow - Currently: Associate Scientist, Texas BioMed Research Institute, SW National Primate Research Center

Mark J Tomishima, PhD — Mark J Tomishima
Currently, Sr. Director, CNS Bioprocess at BlueRock Therapeutics

Viviane Tabar
Chair, Department of Neurosurgery; Theresa Feng Chair in Neurosurgical Oncology

Anselme Perrier
Postdoctoral Fellow - currently: Principal Investigator, iSTEM, INSERM, France

Hyesoo Kim
Currently, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Agnete Kirkeby
PhD student – currently, Associate Professor of Stem Cell Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

ISSCR Achievement Award (2022)
Jacob & Louise Gabbay Award in Biotechnology & Medicine (2018)
Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize, Gladstone Institutes (2017)
MacArthur Fellow (2015)
Member, American Society of Clinical Investigation (2014)

Annemarie Opprecht Parkinson Award, Annemarie Opprecht Foundation (2012)
Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator in Basic Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2005)

Lab News & Events

Upcoming event

Genetic, Cellular, and Intercellular Strategies of Human Brain Development

Thursday, May 30, 2024 - 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rockefeller Research Laboratories
430 East 67th Street
Room RRL-116
New York, NY 10065

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

Career Opportunities

Apply now

Get in Touch

[email protected]

Lab Head Email
212-639-6126

Office Phone
212-717-3642

Office Fax
212-639-8510

Lab Phone

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Lorenz Studer discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

BlueRock Therapeutics
Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities
DaCapo Brainscience, Inc.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, Inc.
Intellectual Property Rights
Luxa Biotechnology, LLC
Professional Services and Activities

Neurona Therapeutics
Equity; Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
Roche
Professional Services and Activities
Rumi Scientific, Inc.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
Vita Therapeutics, Inc.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)

The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2022 through disclosure submission in spring 2023). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].

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