Lab Spotlight: Vanuytsel Lab
Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab contributing to the fields of hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapies, and more. Get to know groups doing cutting edge research from around the world! This month, we are featuring the Vanuytsel Lab which is based out of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, Boston University.
How long has your lab been open and who is in your lab currently?
The lab opened in July 2023 and currently consists of a lab manager, a PhD student, a postdoc and three undergraduate researchers.
What is the overarching research goal for your group?
Our lab studies concepts at the intersection of hematopoietic development, stem cell biology and sickle cell disease. We are trying to gain an in-depth understanding of engraftment potential and how that is orchestrated during development so that we can harness those insights to improve stem cell engraftment in the context of gene therapy and stem cell transplantations. What we learn from studying important developmental niches such as the human fetal liver, will also be relevant to unlock robust engraftment potential in pluripotent stem cell-derived hematopoietic stem cells.
What is your lab’s most significant accomplishment?
We were very honored and grateful to receive the ASH Junior Faculty Scholar Award this year to help catalyze our research. On a different scale but not less meaningful, are the everyday wins of my trainees. I love it when they master something that is new to them and their excitement is palpable.
What is your philosophy in mentorship and lab leadership and how do you tailor that to levels of training?
I learned early on in my research career that each trainee/mentee requires a different approach, so I try to tailor my mentoring style to match the individual. That being said, there are a few core values, such as honesty, transparency and respect that I consider essential ingredients to any mentor-mentee relationship. I make it a priority to create a positive and inclusive lab environment where everyone feels welcome and equipped to productively engage in research and I am grateful to be surrounded by amazing people who share those values. We are lucky to be embedded in an environment with ample training opportunities at all levels and I encourage my mentees to take advantage of these, irrespective of their training level. In general, what you put in is what you get out so anyone who shows up prepared to learn will be met with the challenges and support they need to grow.
What is the greatest challenge in being a principal investigator?
Probably the fact that you have to make 10,000 decisions every day as a PI. Another challenge is keeping thoughts about future funding uncertainty at bay while doing the big picture thinking and during deep dives into exciting new biological questions. They don’t go well together.
Does your lab have any traditions or ways to maintain the lab culture?
We are making things up as we go. Sometimes we go out for breakfast/lunch together or share treats to celebrate small wins. We also rotate to host monthly happy hours that bring together the vibrant research community here at the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) and team up with our neighboring lab for a pumpkin carving contest each year.
Where do you see the lab going over the next few years?
There are some very exciting recent developments in the field like the generation of pluripotent stem cell-derived hematopoietic stem cells as well as advances in gene therapy and spatial omics approaches. Taking advantage of the recent progress in these areas, I am hopeful that we get to unravel some outstanding hematopoietic stem cell biology mysteries together with the experimental hematology community. I really enjoy the broad spectrum covered by our research: from studying developmental hematopoiesis to translating those insights into improvements to gene therapy and transplantation approaches. What we learn in one context often can be applied to another one and I hope we can keep connecting those dots.
Is there anything else you want the community to know about your lab?
Just that we are here, we are passionate about what we do and eager to interact with the community when our paths cross at an upcoming event.
How has interacting with ISEH supported your research?
The ISEH is just the most wonderful community and I look forward to the annual meeting all year long to get the latest updates and connect with like-minded researchers. Everyone is so approachable and I find it very inspiring to learn that the amazing researchers that I look up to are also very genuine and collegial people, all rooting for each other.
The ISEH is unique in its focus on developmental hematopoiesis and how that gets prominently featured during the annual meetings and webinars. There is also a lot of support for junior faculty through networking opportunities and career development sessions and resources. I was fortunate to participate in an ISEH grant writing workshop some years ago and I learned so much! Nothing compares to having experts in the field dissect your specific aims page and provide constructive feedback. I can’t wait for my trainees to discover all that the ISEH has to offer.
Kim Vanuytsel
Center for Regenerative Medicine
Boston University, USA
Blog post contributed by Grant Rowe, MD, PhD (@bloodandtime1), of the ISEH Publications Committee.
Please note that the statements made by Simply Blood authors are their own views and not necessarily the views of ISEH. ISEH disclaims any or all liability arising from any author's statements or materials.
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