3 August 2023 Veni-grant for Robin van der Weide Back to news Robin van der Weide, postdoc in the lab of Jop Kind, receives a prestigious Veni-grant from the NWO talent programme. He will use this personal grant to study the DNA in the retinas of nocturnal animals. In the rods of this tissue, changes in DNA organization namely occur. Investigating these changes may lead to new insights into the role of DNA organization in gene regulation. Organization of DNA Each cell in our body contains more or less two meters of DNA, which is wrapped in tiny nuclei of a few micrometres in length. The way our DNA is organized in this nucleus plays an important role in which pieces of the DNA are turned “on” or “off”. In this way, the spatial organization of our DNA determines which genes are expressed in the cell. Van der Weide will use his Veni grant to conduct research into this spatial organization. He explains: “Normally, regions of the DNA that are ‘off’ are located at the edge of the cell nucleus. The DNA is densely packed there. The regions of the DNA that are ‘on’ are right in the middle of the nucleus and have a lot of space. You could compare this to people at a party: the inactive people stand quietly against the wall, while the dancing (active) people go wild in the middle of the room.” Although this organization of DNA is well described, much remains unclear about how this organization is established, which factors play a role in this and how the organization leads to changes in gene expression. Nuclei in the retina with normal (pink) or flipped (blue) DNA organization. Dark regions mark inactive, densely packed DNA. A difference of day and night To find out more about this, Van der Weide will use rods from the retina of nocturnal animals as a model system. “We don’t know exactly why, but something special is happening in these cells. In the rods, the organization of the DNA flips. The dancefloor now looks very strange: a large island of non-dancing people in the middle, surrounded by bustling partygoers.” By studying this unique process both in vivo and in homemade retinal organoids, Van der Weide wants to find out which factors trigger the changes and how these changes affect gene expression in the rods. The findings from the project may thereby lead to a better understanding of the role that DNA organization plays in gene regulation. About Veni Veni is a funding instrument from the NWO talent programme that enables researchers who recently obtained their doctorate to develop into independent scientists. Thanks to the Veni-grant, researchers have the freedom to carry out research of their choice and develop their talent further. Robin van der Weide is a postdoc in the lab of Jop Kind.
