Jensen Group - Epithelial Homeostasis and Regeneration

Using primarily the intestinal epithelium as system to study cell behaviour, our goal is to understand how the epithelium is maintained long-term and how this is altered upon tissue damage to secure regeneration. We hope that such insights can be exploited to develop new therapies for ulcerating disorder.

 

The epithelium of the intestine relies on stem cells for its constant and life-long replenishment. Recent evidence from our team has provided insight into how intestinal stem cells arise during late development from a more primitive fetal precursor to support maintenance of the homeostatic epithelium.

Interestingly, epithelial cells in the intestine adopt many of these primitive features during regeneration following damage. Moreover, the acquisition of these more primitive features appears to be a requirement for tissue regeneration. In the Jensen group, we are interested in understanding the control mechanisms that ensure tissue maintenance during steady state homeostasis. This includes the correct or appropriate allocation of cells along the different intestinal lineages.

Moreover, we are also interested in how these normal regulatory systems are bypassed following injury to fuel tissue regeneration. Our long-term goal is to use knowledge from the analysis of in vitro organoid models, animal models of both homeostasis and regeneration, and patient samples to develop new therapeutic strategies for treating patients with diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

 

 

We have a number of ongoing projects in the team, which are driven either by individual scientists or as part of larger project groups. These can largely be divided into:

  • Identify and characterise regulatory mechanisms controlling normal tissue homeostasis and lineage allocation.
  • Functional characterisation of cell behaviour during tissue regeneration and probing regulatory mechanisms
  • Development of treatment strategies for patients with ulcerative disorders

 

 

List of publications by Kim Bak Jensen

 

We collaborate with a number of research labs from across the world including a number reNEW labs.

 

 

We receive support from a number of national and international funding schemes including Novo Nordisk Foundation, Danish Medical Research Council, Leo Pharma Research Foundation, European Union, Innovation Fund Denmark, EMBO fellowship programme scheme, Dutch Research Council

 

 

Staff List - Jensen Group

Name Title Phone E-mail
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Alexandra Brand External   E-mail
Amelia Green Special Consultant +4535331322 E-mail
Annika Hausmann Postdoc +4535336938 E-mail
Astrid Møller Baattrup Postdoc +4535336119 E-mail
Cecilia Lövkvist Assistant Professor +4535324933 E-mail
Daniela Mayer Assistant Professor +4535334199 E-mail
Denise Serra Assistant Professor   E-mail
Deniz Esen PhD Fellow +4535321464 E-mail
Ditte Lynge Clement Staff Scientist   E-mail
Emilie Liv Bang-Jensen Visiting Student   E-mail
Grzegorz Jerzy Maciag External, Ph.d Student +4535335058 E-mail
Hjalte List Larsen Assistant Professor +4535335183 E-mail
Ingrid Tsang PhD Fellow   E-mail
Isidora Banjac External   E-mail
Jonathan Skov Research Assistant   E-mail
Kadi Lõhmussaar Postdoc   E-mail
Kata Krizic External, Ph.d Student +4535333092 E-mail
Kim Bak Jensen Professor +4535325682 E-mail
Lingbing Zhang PhD Fellow +4535321132 E-mail
Martti Maimets Senior Researcher +4535337757 E-mail
Maureen Joy Inventor Zøylner Academic Research Staff +4535324234 E-mail
Pawel Jan Schweiger External +4535335047 E-mail
Raul Bardini Bressan Assistant Professor +4535335995 E-mail
Sviatlana Ulyanchanka External +4535331502 E-mail
Taraneh Strunk External   E-mail
Theresa Louise Boye External   E-mail