Xinhui Wu received NRS Travel Grant

EMBO|EMBL Symposium: Organoids: Modeling Organ Development and Disease in 3D Culture 2018: WNT-5A/5B signaling represses functional responses in alveolar epithelial progenitors

Xinhui Wu, University of Groningen

Keywords: EMBO|EMBL 2018, Heidelberg,  Alveolar repair, WNT5A/5B, Organoids, COPD

The EMBO|EMBL symposium: Organoids (2018) was organized in Heidelberg, Germany this year from Sep 10 – 13. As a junior researcher in the area of pulmonary disease (COPD), I am appreciated for having the opportunity to join this international feast with the support of Netherlands Respiratory Society (NRS). The abstract I submitted titled by “WNT5A/5B signaling represses functional responses in alveolar epithelial progenitors” was selected for a Poster presentation.

During the conference, I not only have chances to present my work, but also have many opportunities to attend different lectures, visit posters and talk to the experts who used the same technique of organoids from different areas worldwide. This meeting brought together researchers from different fields to enhance our understanding of how organoids can be formed and maintained, how they can be used to study disease and how we might eventually use them to regenerate and replace human organ tissue. The lectures from Prof. dr. Hans clevers, Prof. dr. Jason Spence and Prof. dr. Celeste Nelson were really impressive. I got motivated by their creative ideas and brilliant work, although their researches are in diverse field. The application of micro-injection to the organoids as well as the 3D live imaging has been recently developed by different groups, which is beneficial for both my current and planned projects.

In the end, I would like to thank NRS again to support me for the trip of the EMBO|EMBL symposium: Organoids (2018). It was an unforgettable experience to exchange ideas with  both experts within and outside the area of respiration and build scientific networks.