Lab news
May 2024
The lab was awarded and NWO-M2 project for 800'000 euros!
Evelina was awarded an NWO-M2 collaborative grant together with Prof. Han Wosten at the Utrecht University.
The title of the project is “The Travels of mRNAs in fungi”. The grant will allow us to recruit two PhD students to investigate whether and how the asymmetric localization of mRNA molecules in pathogenic filamentous fungi is important for the infection of human cells.
Below, the link to the announcement and the a short summary of the project.
The Travels of mRNAs in fungi
Dr Evelina Tutucci & Prof dr Han Wösten (VU/UU)
Fungal infections are on the rise worldwide. In addition, resistance to the antifungal drugs currently used in the clinic is increasing. Therefore, new antifungal agents need to be developed. In this project we will investigate the two main human fungal pathogens, Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus. By using advanced microscopy, we will explore whether and how the localization of mRNA molecules impacts the growth of hyphae, elongated cells important for infection, as well as their ability to infect human cells. This work could therefore provide targets for the development of new antifungal agents.
We will have two PhD positions opening soon!
March 2024
Our Candida albicans smFISH protocol is out
It represents a big milestone for the lab. It is our first Candida albicans project, our first smFISH protocol and associated analysis pipeline for this pathogenic fungus. It is the first all-Amsterdam research project and the first first-author research paper for Sander. Congratulations to all the members of the lab involved! Here is the PDF
April 2023
Our review “Understanding spatiotemporal coupling of gene expression using single molecule RNA imaging technologies” it’s published in Transcription!
It’s the product of a team effort by Alan Gerber (Amsterdam UMC), Sander van Otterdijk (Sysbio), Frank Bruggeman (Sysbio) and Evelina Tutucci (Sysbio).
We combined our expertise in Gene expression regulation, Single-molecule RNA imaging, and Prokaryotic quantitative cell physiology to write a truly multidisciplinary review.
We discussed state-of-the-art imaging approaches for the measurement and quantitative understanding of gene expression, starting from the early visualizations of single genes by electron microscopy to current fluorescence-based approaches in single cells, including live-cell RNA-imaging approaches to FISH-based spatial transcriptomics across model organisms. We also highlighted how these methods have shaped our understanding of the spatiotemporal coupling between transcription and translation in prokaryotes and the future challenges in the field.
We had a lot of fun preparing some nice figures too, which illustrate our growing interest in the spatial control of gene expression across kingdoms of life.
Enjoy!
P.S. Special congrats to Sander for his first scientific publication!
You can find it here
August 2022
Applications for a PhD position are now open!
Are you looking for a PhD position at the intersection between microbiology, fluorescence microscopy and bioinformatics? Do you enjoy developing new methods and performing microscopy, quantitative biology and modelling? The lab is accepting applications for a 4 years fully-funded PhD position starting no later than February 1st 2023.
Please apply at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Applications received by e-mail will not be processed. Deadline August 31st 23:59
Apply here: https://workingat.vu.nl/ad/phd-in-fungal-biology-and-microscopy/l99bsb
July 2022
Evelina received and NWO-M1 grant from the Dutch Research Council
We will work on the spatiotemporal control of gene expression in Candida albicans during biofilm formation. We will develop RNA imaging tools to understand the molecular mechanisms controlling the differentiation of this amazing fungus.
An announcement for a PhD position will be published soon!
The first joint Tutucci & Gerber labs barbecue marked an important milestone
The Gene expression regulation family joined forces to celebrate the lab third birthday, successes, great students, but also failures and resilience.
To a bright and fluorescent future!
June 2022
Rob Singer's lab reunion to celebrate one-of-a-kind mentor
"How many people did work in the Singer lab? " The short answer is...more than they can fit in a single picture! All happy to celebrate with the Singer lab family the outstanding career of Rob!
May 2022
Evelina went to the FEBS Meeting: Molecular Mechanisms of Host-pathogen Interactions and Virulence in Human Fungal Pathogens
Very proud to present Sander's and Thomas's work on Candida albicans biofilms!
A lab delegation went on a trip to Brussels to attend the conference Yeasterday 2022
Luna gave a fantastic talk!
Sabine, Fenna and Thomas presented posters... Evelina did the taxi driver and enjoyed the show!
March 2022
Our preprint is out!
Cyclin CLB2 mRNA localization determines efficient protein synthesis to orchestrate bud growth and cell cycle progression
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.01.481833v1.article-metrics
February 2022
Applications for a PhD position are now open!
Are you looking for a PhD position at the intersection between microbiology, fluorescence microscopy and technology development? Do you enjoy developing new methods and performing quantitative biology and data analysis? The Tutucci group (A-Life & AIMMS, VU Amsterdam), together with the Vasilis Kokkoris group (A-Life, VU Amsterdam) in Amsterdam NL, are accepting applications for a 4 years fully-funded PhD position. Please apply at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Deadline March 24th
Apply here:
https://workingat.vu.nl/ad/phd-in-fungal-biology-and-microscopy/69yh6n
January 2022
Starting off the year with good news!
Together with Vasilis Kokkoris, assistant professor in the newly formed A-LIFE department, we have been awarded an early career support grant.
We will soon hire a PhD student to work on beautiful Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We will develop imaging technology to elucidate the physiology of this mysterious fungus important for sustainable agriculture.
Info on the position will be published soon! Stay tuned!