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Hetty Dreyer successfully defended her PhD thesis, Optimizing In Vitro Nasal Epithelial Cell Models for Enhanced Cilia-Related Airway Research, on December 17. Her work focuses on the optimization and validation of in vitro primary cell culture models to study the biology of airway tissues in health and disease.

Dreyer’s research addresses the need for robust, scalable, and cost-effective in vitro models for airway-related disease. Using nasal epithelial cells obtained through non-invasive brushing techniques, she developed protocols that enable detailed study of cilia function and airway biology. “We aimed to optimize these models for easier and more efficient research while maintaining accuracy, which is essential for high-throughput studies on disease characterization and drug development,” Dreyer explained.

Studying cilia-related diseases

Her findings have implications for studying conditions such as primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Dreyer’s models allow for practicable and accurate experiments on cilia function. These advancements also facilitate large-scale studies, supported by the possible integration of automation tools like pipetting robots or by automated cilia beat frequency analysis. ‘This didn’t go smooth right away,’ she says. ‘For the first 3,5 years of my PhD the imaging of ciliary beat frequency and the analysis was performed manually. This resulted in many hours of microscopy and computer analyses, sometimes until the late evening.’

Going for larger scale

Dreyer: ‘With this project we gained novel culture conditions that significantly reduce limitations of current HNEC cultures in terms of robustness, suitability, scalability, and cost efficiency.’

The optimized models can be employed for a variety of assays, with submerged differentiation showing particular promise as a potential standard model for screening assays, knockout experiments and drug development. Submerged differentiation is further compatibility with pipetting robots, making it ideal for large-scale research and appealing for industrial applications.

A positive time at the RMCU

Dreyer looks back on a positive time at the RMCU. She enjoyed the collaborative atmosphere of her lab, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I appreciated the willingness of colleagues to share materials and compounds, which were often in short supply during the pandemic,” she noted. With her PhD successfully completed, Dreyer now turns her attention to her family, expecting her second daughter in March. Her career will continue afterwards.