About us

46 researchers across the UK and Europe are working together in the Human Developmental Biology Initiative

 

About the project

We’re trying to answer basic questions like: how do cells ‘know’ to organise themselves into different organs, such as the brain, lungs and heart?

And even within each organ, there are many different cell types, carefully organised to perform specific functions. When everything is ‘normal’ all of these different cells work together to keep us alive and well.

However, about 3% of babies are born with developmental defects – problems that often start very early in pregnancy, but scientists currently know very little about how and why they happen. A better understanding of early human development may one day lead to better treatments for many conditions such as infertility, childhood cancers, spina bifida, heart defects and other developmental diseases.

Our research focuses on four specific areas of human development:

  • The early embryo: how does a single fertilised egg generate the major cell types that become tissues and organs? →

  • Heart and lungs: how and where are the different cell types that make up the heart and lungs generated? →

Recent decades have seen great advances in our understanding of the principles of developmental biology in a range of plants and animals. 

Combined with recent technological advances that allow advanced imaging, new molecular insights, and ex vivo maintenance of developing tissues and organs, it is now feasible and timely to make a coherent effort to understand human development.

Background Image: Human lung tissue at 9 weeks of development (Image by John Russell, Rawlins lab)

HDBI’s primary aim is to set up experimental platforms to enable human developmental biology research among the wider scientific community. 

To provide a focus for technology development and to generate a foundational dataset on human development, HDBI will concentrate its research activities on understanding cell lineage (the developmental history of each cell in an organism) at a variety of developmental stages, and across four complementary systems: the early embryo, developing heart and lung, the central nervous system and the haematopoietic/immune system.

To realise the potential of the technologies developed, integrative data analysis and biophysical modelling of human development are central to HDBI to target the molecular, cellular and morphogenic programs that underpin tissue development.

 HDBI structure

Management committee

  • Prof Elizabeth Robertson
    (Chair)

  • Dr Peter Rugg-Gunn
    (Scientific lead, Early development theme representative)

  • Prof Andy Copp
    (Finance lead, HDBR representative)

  • Dr Paula Alexandre
    (Neuro theme representative)

  • Dr Elisa Laurenti
    (Blood & Immune theme representative)

  • Dr Emma Rawlins
    (Public Engagement lead, Cardiopulmonary theme representative)

  • Dr Richard J. Acton
    (Data Outputs manager)

  • Dr Pilar Vazquez Arango
    (Project manager)

Scientific advisory board

  • Prof Brigid Hogan
    (Chair)

  • Prof Margaret Buckingham

  • Dr Insoo Hyun
    (Bioethicist)

  • Prof Janet Rossant

  • Prof Robb Krumlauf

  • Prof David Scadden

  • Prof Sally Temple 

Human Developmental Biology Resource (HDBR):

  • Prof Andy Copp
    (UCL)

  • Dr Nita Solanky
    (UCL)

  • Prof Deborah Henderson
    (Newcastle University)

  • Dr Steven Lisgo
    (Newcastle University)

  • Jasmin Turner
    (Newcastle University)

Computational biology team

  • Prof Ben Simons
    (University of Cambridge)

  • Prof Martin Howard
    (John Innes Centre)

  • Prof Guillaume Salbreux
    (University of Geneva)

Public engagement programme:

  • Dr Emma Rawlins
    (Public engagement lead)

  • Naomi Clements-Brod
    (Public engagement manager)

  • Prof Mary Herbert
    (Public engagement steering committee)

  • Dr Elisa Laurenti
    (Public engagement steering committee)

  • Prof Shankar Srinivas
    (Public engagement steering committee)

  • Dr Pilar Vazquez Arango
    (Public engagement steering committee)

  • Public engagement practitioner network