Professor Stefan Hoppler

Biography

Born and brought up in Winterthur, Switzerland. Undergraduate studies in Zoology and Molecular Biology at the University of Zürich, Switzerland.  Postgraduate studies in Zürich and at the M.R.C. Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK with Dr. Mariann Bienz on the function of homeotic genes and wingless signalling in Drosophila midgut development. 

Postdoc with Prof. Randall Moon at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. studying Wnt signalling in early amphibian development (Publications). Postdoct. Research Assistant with Dr. Enrique Amaya, Univ. of Cambridge, U.K.. Principal Investigator at Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee.

With the University of Aberdeen since summer 2003. Promotion to Reader (~Associate Professor) in 2006. Promotion to full Professor in 2012.

Prizes and Awards

·      Royal Society/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship, 2020.

·      William Evans Visiting Fellowship, University of Otago, New Zealand (2011)

·      Royal Society of Edinburgh, International Exchange Fellowship (2011)

·      Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship (1997)

·      EMBO Fellowship Award (1994)

·      Max Perutz Prize for Graduate Studies (1993)

Research Overview

The tissues and organs of developing embryos are organised by cell-to-cell signalling. These interactions are mediated by a relatively small number of signalling molecules. These signals are repeatedly used at different stages of development and in different tissues of the embryo. Wnts are one important class of such signalling molecules. They are secreted glycoproteins which function as cell-to-cell signals in develomental processes in all multicellular animals examined. Abnormally activated Wnt signalling is also involved in certain types of tumours such as breast and colon cancer.

We want to understand the normal role of Wnt signalling in patterning the developing vertebrate embryo. Where and when are Wnts used during embryogenesis and what is their function in different organs and at different stages? We have recently analysed the molecular mechanisms of tissue-specific Wnt signalling and are currently studying Wnt function in heart and brain development. We use Xenopus as our model system and apply modern techniques, such as transgenesis and antisense oligos. We also using human Embryonic Stem Cells to model the functional role of Wnt signalling in heart muscle differentiation.

Funding and Grants

 Current Grant Funding:

British Heart Foundation non-clinical studentship “Wnt Signalling Response to Myocardial Infarction”, £123,883, Aug 2020 – July 2023

BBSRC Project Grant “Diversification of Vertebrate Tcf Structure and Function”, £503,452, July 2020 – July 2023

British Heart Foundation Project Grant, Applicants: Adam Lynch and S. Hoppler, “Characterisation of a Novel Selectable Cell-Surface Regulator of Cardiovascular Progenitors for Stem Cell-Mediated Regeneration”, £196,608 Oct 2019 – Dec 2021

British Heart Foundation Programme Grant, Applicant: S. Hoppler (7.4hrs/week), "How does Wnt control gene-regulatory networks to coordinate cardiomyocyte differentiation", £1,006,869, Principal Investigator, Aug. 2018 – Jul. 2023