Cum laude PhD defense Matteo Perino

10 January 2018

On 27 May, Matteo Perino, theme Cancer development and immune defense, has defended his PhD thesis entitled “Molecular regulation of Polycomb complexes in mouse embryonic stem cells”.

Every multicellular organism, even the simplest, has the ability to generate cells with very different, specialised functions using the same genetic information. This is achieved via epigenetic regulation which checks how, when and which part of this "blueprint" is used. Via a complex system, environmental and genetic signals are integrated to generate cells with different identities and functions from the same DNA. All this is done in complete harmony to ensure the formation of a complete organism. Matteo Perino investigated the molecular regulation of the protein complex Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 in embryonic cells of mice and the embryonic development of the frog Xenopus Tropicalis.

Based on his excellent thesis and performance during the defense, the doctorate was awarded with the distinction 'cum laude'.

Promotor: Gert Jan Veenstra.