We are currently searching for highly motivated Master Student to investigate glycosylation patterns of the gut and their effect on immune system activation:

How well do gut patient-derived organoids (PDOs) recapitulate the cellular and molecular features of native duodenal and gastric tissue?

Background and Project Description

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) from human gut tissue are emerging as powerful models for studying disease mechanisms and testing new therapies, particularly in the context of chronic inflammation and inflammatory bowel diseases. For these models to be clinically relevant, they must accurately recapitulate the complex cellular and molecular microenvironment of the original tissue. Among the key factors are the immune cell landscape and the glycosylation patterns of epithelial and mucosal cells—both of which are known to influence tumor development, and immune evasion.

While protein expression in health and disease has been studied extensively, the spatial organization and diversity of glycan structures remain poorly understood, partly due to the limited availability of sensitive and specific detection reagents. To address this, the project will integrate plant lectins—specialized carbohydrate-binding molecules—into a pre-established antibody panel for multiplex immunofluorescence using the PhenoCycler-Fusion platform (Akoya Biosciences), a leading spatial biology technology.

The main goal of the project is to determine whether gut-derived PDOs faithfully reflect cancer associated changes in epithelial glycosylation observed in human tumor tissue. This includes detailed spatial comparison of glycosylation patterns and cell type composition between PDOs and their tissue of origin.

Contact us:

matthias.barone@charite.de