In 2011, Susanne took up a new post with the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Portsmouth. In her research, she is focusing on the molecular networks that control musculoskeletal and cardiac development and the formation of the associated stem cells. Current work investigates the contribution of multi-potent precursors to either head skeletal muscle or heart and the specific properties of developing muscle stem cells.

Susanne has established novel collaborations to accompany the work on the mouse and chicken model with work on zebrafish and Xenopus, aimed at identifying the basic regulatory mechanisms conserved throughout vertebrates. Moreover, she has established collaborations to join “wet” laboratory work with “dry” bioinformatics. Furthermore, Susanne has established collaborations to investigate the assembly of functional organs, including the innervation of muscle. All of these collaborations have led to or are being prepared for publications.

Susanne’s findings made a significant contribution to the field of developmental biology and are well represented in text books such as the renowned Gilbert’s “Developmental Biology”; she is also regularly invited for seminars, and she is an member of the editorial board of the journal “Developmental Biology”.

For more information about Susanne's research please visit her lab page

Tissue interactions and molecular networks that control:

• how a multi-potent mesodermal precursor cell commits to a particular cell fate
• how precursor stem cell propteries are regulated, and when a cell may differentiate
• how the balance between cell differentiation and maintenance of a precursor/stem cell pool is achieved
• how a precursor cell recognises and reaches its target sites
• how cells from different sources and tissues assemble into a functional organ