Christine Mummery is Professor of Developmental Biology and heads the iPSC&OoC Hotel facility in the LUMC which she founded in 2011. She was head of the department Anatomy and Embryology from 2009-2019 and guest professor at the University of Twente from 2015-2023. She is a member of the KNAW, KHMW and is a laureate or the European Research Council (Advanced and Proof-of-Concept grants). In the LUMC she co-chairs the Theme RegMedTO and PI in the Novo Nordisk Foundation Stem Cell Center (reNEW), a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen and Murdoch Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. She has been awarded a number of prizes include the Fondation Lefoulon-Delalande-Institut de France prize for cardiovascular physiology (2021) and the Public Service Award (2023) of the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). She was ISSCR president 2020-2021. She wrote a lay guide to stem cells (“Stem Cells: Scientific Facts and Fiction”; Elsevier 3rd edition 2018) which is widely used by students, patients, ethicists and lawyers. She has serves on panels of ZonMW, the ERC, British Heart Foundation, Medical Research Council (UK), and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. She was co-founder and first chair of the European Organ on Chip Society. She is currently chair of the board of hDMT.

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Christine Mummery is Professor of Developmental Biology and heads the iPSC&OoC Hotel facility in the LUMC which she founded in 2011. She was head of the department Anatomy and Embryology from 2009-2019 and guest professor at the University of Twente from 2015-2023. She is a member of the KNAW, KHMW and is a laureate or the European Research Council (Advanced and Proof-of-Concept grants). In the LUMC she co-chairs the Theme RegMedTO and PI in the Novo Nordisk Foundation Stem Cell Center (reNEW), a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen and Murdoch Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. She has been awarded a number of prizes include the Fondation Lefoulon-Delalande-Institut de France prize for cardiovascular physiology (2021) and the Public Service Award (2023) of the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). She was ISSCR president 2020-2021. She wrote a lay guide to stem cells (“Stem Cells: Scientific Facts and Fiction”; Elsevier 3rd edition 2018) which is widely used by students, patients, ethicists and lawyers. She has serves on panels of ZonMW, the ERC, British Heart Foundation, Medical Research Council (UK), and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. She was co-founder and first chair of the European Organ on Chip Society. She is currently chair of the board of hDMT. 

Stem Cells and Developmental Biology

Research focus concerns cardiovascular development and disease models based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). Immediate interests are on developing biophysical techniques for characterization and functional analysis of cardiovascular cells from hPSC with the ultimate aim of understanding underlying disease mechanisms and drugs for treatment through bioassays. The interest derives from a long-standing fascination on how differentiation choices are made in development and the roles played by growth factors. With the development of human iPS cells by reprogramming somatic cells from patients, enthusiasm for potential clinical applications has grown, particularly in using these cells to identify personalized drug targets and sensitivities and ways correct disease phenotypes. Aside from cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells take a central role in the research, again in a clinical setting where we study a hemorrhaging disease (HHT) caused by mutations in TGFß receptors. We revealed several important mechanism underlying the disease and investigate several candidate drugs now being prescribed to patients. Through collaboration with clinicians in Leiden and Utrecht and engineers in Utwente and TU Delft, we are currently implementing methods for creating synthetic 2-D and 3-D normal and (genetically) diseased vascular and myocardial tissue. These study areas form part of the NWA on personalized medicine, early diagnosis and regenerative medicine.

Academic career

Christine Mummery trained in Biophysics at the University of London and after her PhD, was a Royal Society postdoctoral fellow at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, where she later became staff member and group leader. She was Professor of Developmental Biology at the Hubrecht Institute until 2007 and after sabbatical leave at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute introduced human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) to the Netherlands. In 2008, she became Chair of Developmental Biology at the LUMC and was department head from 2009-2019. In 2015, she became guest professor at the University of Twente. In 2010, she co-founded NCardia bv as an LUMC spinout. Her current research concerns modelling cardiovascular diseases using stem cells from patients and developing organ-on-chip models of multiple organs for safety pharmacology and potential disease and drug targets. In 2017, she led a successful bid for a multi-million NWO Gravity grant for this and is a European Research Council laureate (Advanced and Proof-of-Concept grants). She co-founded the European Organ on Chip Society and the Netherlands Human Organ and Disease Modelling Technology organization (hDMT). Most recently she has coordinated an NWO Large Infrastructure Grant (hDMT INFRA Stem Cells) on behalf of hDMT.  She is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Science (KNAW) and was president of the International Society of Stem Cell research (ISSCR) 2020-2021. She was founding editor of the ISSCR journal Stem Cell Reports. Her ambitions include promoting women and minorities in STEM. She is on several scientific advisory boards including the Hubrecht Institute, het Boerhaave Museum, the Allen Institute, Mogrify, HeartBeatBio, Agnios, Cellistic, Sync Biosystems and Sartorius Gmbh.

• Promotie Universiteit London: Effect of Ultrasound on Wound Healing
• Oratie LUMC Maart 2009: Stamcellen tussen hype en hypothese
• Oratie Universiteit Twente (Juni 2015): Vessels on Chip
• Oratie Universiteit Utrecht (November 2002): Mending a broken heart

Prizes and honourable appointments

International prizes/Awards/Academy memberships

• Radcliffe Fellowship, Harvard University (2007)
• Royal Society Fellowship, UK (1978, 1979)
• Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) (elected 2010)
• Hugo van de Poelgeest Prize 2014 for Animal Alternatives
• Hans Bloemendaal Medal 2014 for innovative interdisciplinary research

National activities

• Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) (2010-   )
• Member of the governing board of the Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011- 2015)
• Member of the governing board of ZonMW (Netherlands Medical Research Council) (2008-2017)
• Member of the Netherlands Central Committee for Research on Humans (CCMO) (2005-2014).
• Member of the National Health Advisory Committee (Gezondheids Raad) on Trend Analysis Biotechnology (2009- )
• Chair of the National Science Council (NWO ) “Zenith” and “Horizon” grant evaluation committees.
• Member of the ter Meulen Fonds (KNAW) selection committee.
• Selection committee for the Netherlands Research Council for large scale facilities (2011-2012)
• Chair of the selection committee for the Heineken Prize for Medicine 2012 and 2014
• Public and patient advocate lectures/science cafes on the risks of stem cell tourism: rotary clubs, Diabetes Fund, Heart Foundation, Young Onset Parkinson group, Huntington Disease group.

International activities

• Member of the board of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (2008-2015)
• President of the International Society of Differentiation (2010-2012).
• Journals: Editor in chief: Stem Cell Reports; former Deputy editor in chief: Stem Cell Research; Editorial Board of Cell Stem Cells, Stem Cells (Lead reviewer), Current Stem Cell Res. and Therapy, Cardiovascular Research, Molecular Therapy and Differentiation; Associate Editor of the International Journal of Developmental Biology.
• Member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of the New York Stem Cell Foundation, EU ESTOOLS (Chair); the International Society for Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia.(HHT), CellCure (biotech company developing stem cell therapy for macular degeneration), EU FP7 programme on hematopoiesis; EU IMI StemBANCC,
• Member of the Wellcome Trust Committee, UK (2002-2006) “Molecules, Genes, Cells” and ad hoc specialist committee member (2012).
• Netherlands scientific representative of the International Stem Cell Initiative (ISCI)  (2007-  )
• Member of the NWO Roadmap selection committee 2012, 2014
• Member of the ERC Starters grant selection committee (2012- )
• Programme committee/organizer of the following (selected) conferences: ISSCR 2013, 2015, 2017; DSSCR 2011- date; ISD 2012; De Snoo 2015; Keystone 2016, 2018.

Publications