Dr. R. (Renée) van Amerongen
- Science Park 904
- Room number: C2.261
- Postbus 1212
1000 BE Amsterdam
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About me
Work experience
2017 - present: associate professor (tenured)
2013 - 2017: MacGillavry fellow and tenure track assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam
2011 - 2013: senior postdoc at the Netherlands Cancer Institute
2008 - 2011: postdoc with prof.dr. Roel Nusse at Stanford University, USA
1999 - 2005: PhD thesis research with prof.dr. Anton Berns at the Netherlands Cancer Institute
Education
2005 PhD (cum laude) from the Universiteit van Amsterdam
1999 MSc (cum laude) from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Honors and Awards
2014 NWO VIDI grant
2013 NWO Aspasia (declined)
2013 KWF persoonsgebonden financiering
2013 MacGillavry fellowship
2007 4-year KWF fellowship for fundamental cancer research
2007 longterm EMBO fellowship
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Research Interests
Developmental signaling pathways display great virtuosity. In the same way that the same few notes can be used over and over again to compose anything from Bach to Beyonce, the same molecular signals are used over and over again with very different phenotypic outcomes depending on the time and place of their activity. Development of a multicellular organism requires tight control of cell proliferation, differentiation and polarized cell movements to ensure the correct assembly of cells into complex tissues. The same molecular mechanisms that normally guide these biological processes in the developing embryo, maintain tissue homeostasis in the adult. When disrupted, they are the underlying cause of degenerative diseases, tumor formation and, ultimately, aging.
But how does a single fertilized oocyte ultimately grow out into a complex animal with billions of specialized cells that carry out very different functions? And how is tissue function and integrity maintained in the adult? These are central questions in biology.
All multicellular animals use Wnt signal transduction as a molecular mechanism to control cell division, differentiation and movement. Our goal is to understand how this pathway operates at the molecular level to control complex cell behavior in 3D space and time.
With a specific focus on Wnt signaling in the context of mammary gland development and breast cancer, my research team aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that control complex and dynamic cell behavior in development and disease. For this, we operate at the exciting interface of developmental, stem cell and cancer research to dissect basic principles of biology from man our mouse to molecule.
For more information, visit our lab website.
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Publications
2021
de Man, S. M. A., Zwanenburg, G., van der Wal, T., Hink, M. A., & van Amerongen, R. (2021). Quantitative live-cell imaging and computational modelling shed new light on endogenous WNT/CTNNB1 signaling dynamics. eLife, 10, [e66440]. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.66440 [details]- van Amerongen, R. (2021). Behind the Scenes of the Human Breast Cell Atlas Project. Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, 26(1), 67-70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10911-021-09482-7 [details]
2020
- van Amerongen, R. (2020). Celebrating Discoveries in Wnt Signaling: How One Man Gave Wings to an Entire Field. Cell, 181(3), 487-491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.033 [details]
- van Schie, E. H., & van Amerongen, R. (2020). Aberrant WNT/CTNNB1 Signaling as a Therapeutic Target in Human Breast Cancer: Weighing the Evidence. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 8, [25]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.00025 [details]
- van de Moosdijk, A. A. A., van de Grift, Y. B. C., de Man, S. M. A., Zeeman, A. L., & van Amerongen, R. (2020). A novel Axin2 knock‐in mouse model for visualization and lineage tracing of WNT/CTNNB1 responsive cells. Genesis, 58(9), [e23387]. https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.23387 [details]
- van der Wal, T., & van Amerongen, R. (2020). Walking the tight wire between cell adhesion and WNT signalling: A balancing act for β-catenin. Open Biology, 10(12), [200267]. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.200267 [details]
- van der Wal, T., Lambooij, J-P., & van Amerongen, R. (2020). TMEM98 is a negative regulator of FRAT mediated Wnt/ß-catenin signalling. PLoS ONE, 15(1), [e0227435]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227435 [details]
2018
- Wiese, K. E., Nusse, R., & van Amerongen, R. (2018). Wnt signaling: conquering complexity. Development - The Company of Biologists, 145(12), [dev165902]. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.165902 [details]
2017
- van de Moosdijk, A. A. A., Fu, N. Y., Rios, A. C., Visvader, J. E., & van Amerongen, R. (2017). Lineage Tracing of Mammary Stem and Progenitor Cells. In F. Martin, T. Stein, & J. Howlin (Eds.), Mammary Gland Development: Methods and Protocols (pp. 291-308). (Methods in Molecular Biology). Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6475-8_15 [details]
2016
- Boelens, M. C., Nethe, M., Klarenbeek, S., de Ruiter, J. R., Schut, E., Bonzanni, N., ... Jonkers, J. (2016). PTEN Loss in E-Cadherin-Deficient Mouse Mammary Epithelial Cells Rescues Apoptosis and Results in Development of Classical Invasive Lobular Carcinoma. Cell Reports, 16(8), 2087-2101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.07.059 [details]
- Jacobsen, A., Heijmans, N., Verkaar, F., Smit, M. J., Heringa, J., van Amerongen, R., & Feenstra, K. A. (2016). Construction and Experimental Validation of a Petri Net Model of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling. PLoS ONE, 11(5), [e0155743]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155743 [details]
- Lloyd-Lewis, B., van de Moosdijk, A. A. A., Bentires-Alj, M., Clarke, R. B., & van Amerongen, R. (2016). Complexity galore: 3D cultures, biomechanics and systems medicine at the eighth ENBDC workshop "Methods in Mammary Gland Development and Cancer". Breast Cancer Research, 18, [115]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-016-0777-2 [details]
- Loh, K. M., van Amerongen, R., & Nusse, R. (2016). Generating Cellular Diversity and Spatial Form: Wnt Signaling and the Evolution of Multicellular Animals. Developmental Cell, 38(6), 643-655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2016.08.011 [details]
- van de Moosdijk, A. A. A., & van Amerongen, R. (2016). Identification of reliable reference genes for qRT-PCR studies of the developing mouse mammary gland. Scientific Reports, 6, [35595]. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep35595 [details]
2015
- Glukhova, M. A., Hynes, N., Vivanco, DM., van Amerongen, R., Clarke, R. B., & Bentires-Alj, M. (2015). The seventh ENBDC workshop on methods in mammary gland development and cancer. Breast Cancer Research, 17, [119]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-015-0629-5 [details]
- van Amerongen, R. (2015). Lineage Tracing in the Mammary Gland Using Cre/lox Technology and Fluorescent Reporter Alleles. In M. Vivanco del Mar (Ed.), Mammary Stem Cells: methods and protocols (pp. 187-211). (Methods in Molecular Biology; No. 1293). Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2519-3_11 [details]
2014
- Green, J., Nusse, R., & van Amerongen, R. (2014). The role of Ryk and Ror receptor tyrosine kinases in Wnt signal transduction. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 6(2), 009175. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a009175 [details]
- Kemper, K., de Goeje, P. L., Peeper, D. S., & van Amerongen, R. (2014). Phenotype switching: tumor cell plasticity as a resistance mechanism and target for therapy. Cancer Research, 74(21), 5937-5941. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-1174 [details]
- Rinkevich, Y., Montoro, D. T., Contreras-Trujillo, H., Harari-Steinberg, O., Newman, A. M., Tsai, J. M., ... Dekel, B. (2014). In vivo clonal analysis reveals lineage-restricted progenitor characteristics in mammalian kidney development, maintenance, and regeneration. Cell Reports, 7(4), 1270-1283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2014.04.018 [details]
- Shehata, M., van Amerongen, R., Zeeman, A. L., Giraddi, R. R., & Stingl, J. (2014). The influence of tamoxifen on normal mouse mammary gland homeostasis. Breast Cancer Research, 16(4), [411]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-014-0411-0 [details]
- van Amerongen, R. (2014). Bipotent mammary stem cells: now in amazing 3D. Breast Cancer Research, 2014(16), 480. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-014-0480-0 [details]
2013
- Lim, X., Tan, S. H., Koh, W. L. C., Chau, R. M. W., Yan, K. S., Kuo, C. J., ... Nusse, R. (2013). Interfollicular epidermal stem cells self-renew via autocrine Wnt signaling. Science, 342(6163), 1226-1230. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1239730 [details]
2015
- van Amerongen, R. (2015). short interview: Biologie was achteraf gezien juiste keuze. Het Parool.
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Ancillary activities
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De Nederlandse Boekengids
freelance auteur (popular science/book reviews) -
Radio Swammerdam
Columnist
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De Nederlandse Boekengids
de Man, S. M. A., Zwanenburg, G., van der Wal, T., Hink, M. A., & van Amerongen, R. (2021). Quantitative live-cell imaging and computational modelling shed new light on endogenous WNT/CTNNB1 signaling dynamics. eLife, 10, [e66440].