Close to thirty years of marine basic research
The Michael Sars Centre is built on the same model as EMBL: group leaders get funding and access to strong infrastructure for a limited period, six years with the option of four more. Groups are therefore renewed regularly, and the scientific profile of the Centre changes over time.
Below you will find the groups that were active at the Centre and have since closed, with the period they were here, who led them and what they researched. The doctoral degrees awarded in these groups are listed on the page about studying and training at the Centre.
The groups from 1998 to 2021
Most recent first. Open a group to see what it worked on.
The Rentzsch group — neural development in cnidarians (2008–2021)
Group leader: Fabian Rentzsch
The group used the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis to study how the nervous system develops and regenerates. Cnidarians are the sister group to bilaterians and among the earliest branching animal groups with a nervous system, so comparisons from them say something about the first steps in nervous system evolution.
The group identified a population of neural progenitor cells that can give rise to all types of neural cells in Nematostella, and showed that several key aspects of neurogenesis are controlled by the same genes as in bilaterians. The work also addressed why some animals regenerate their nervous system better than others.
The Glover group — neural development in appendicularians (2000–2021 (associate group))
Group leader: Joel C. Glover
The group studied neural development and function in the urochordate Oikopleura, from gene expression to behaviour, using molecular and functional imaging approaches.
The Hausen group — eyes and photoreceptors in marine invertebrates (2010–2020)
Group leader: Harald Hausen
The group compared development, molecular features and structure of cell types and organ systems across several invertebrates, with an emphasis on photoreceptor cells and eyes, to understand animal evolution.
The Thompson group — chromatin and cell cycle dynamics in urochordates (1998–2019)
Group leader: Eric M. Thompson
The group investigated how developmental cell cycle variants and epigenetic landscapes are controlled in marine mesozooplankton. The laboratory played a central role in establishing Oikopleura dioica as a new marine model organism — an abundant planktonic tunicate in the closest living group to vertebrates.
The species has a vital role in marine ecosystems and can expand its population rapidly during algal blooms. The house it lives in is rebuilt and discarded every four hours, and the discarded houses contribute significantly to vertical carbon flux in the oceans.
The Hejnol group — comparative developmental biology (2009–2019)
Group leader: Andreas Hejnol
The group studied a broad range of animal taxa using morphological, molecular and genomic tools to understand how animal organ systems arose and evolved. Because life and the main animal lineages originated in the sea, marine animals give a good starting point for understanding the origin of the major organ systems before they specialized in land-living animals, humans included.
The Jiang group — ascidian notochord morphogenesis (2006–2014)
Group leader: Di Jiang
The group investigated how differentiated cells organize into tissues and organs, and how that process evolves. The ascidian notochord is an elegant system for this: while the vertebrate notochord has thousands of still-dividing cells, the ascidian notochord has only 40 post-mitotic cells that stack into a single column through convergent extension.
The Adamska group — developmental signalling in marine sponges (2007–2014)
Group leader: Maja Adamska
The group worked on sponge development and the signalling pathways that control it.
The Lenhard group — bioinformatics of transcriptional regulation (2006–2011)
Group leader: Boris Lenhard
The group studied the mechanisms of gene regulation, using bioinformatic approaches to transcription and transcriptional regulation.
The Technau group — molecular developmental genetics of cnidarians (2004–2008)
Group leader: Ulrich Technau
The group worked on cnidarian development and the genetics that control it.
The Becker group — vertebrate genome regulation using zebrafish (1999–2008)
Group leader: Thomas S. Becker
The group studied vertebrate genome regulation using zebrafish as the model organism.
The Olsen group — germline development (1999–2004)
Group leader: Lars C. Olsen
The group researched how the germline — the cells that give rise to eggs and sperm — develops.
The Cunningham group — comparative immunology (1998–2003)
Group leader: Charles Cunningham
The group worked on the vertebrate immune system in a comparative perspective.
See also
The research going on at the Centre today.