Jacco van Rheenen

The van Rheenen group studies the identity, behavior, and fate of cells that drive the initiation and progression of cancer. These populations of cells are rare, and their behavior (e.g. migration) and traits (e.g. stemness) change over time.

To study these dangerous cells, we have developed microscopy techniques to visualize individual cells in real-time in whole bodies. By these techniques, we revealed multiple important factors within the single cell heterogeneity that are crucial in the processes of tissue homeostasis, tumor initiation and tumor progression.