Erasmus MC : Meijer, Dies

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Dies Meijer studied Molecular Sciences at Wageningen University. He received his PhD degree from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 1992 for his studies into transcription factors controlling embryonic and spermatogenic stem cell development. He obtained postdoctoral training at the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill London where he joined the laboratory of Dr Frank Grosveld to study gene structural elements defining the regulatory domains of gene activity during development.

In 1994 he moved to the department of Cell Biology and Genetics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam where he initiated studies on glial cell development and myelination in the peripheral nervous system. He is a coordinator and participant in a European Community Network on peripheral nerve development and differentiation (NGIDD FP7). His lab also participates in the national consortium on Stem Cells in Development and Disease (SCDD) and its follow up the Netherlands Institute for Regenerative Medicine. In 2006 he received a NWO VICI award to continue and expand his studies into the molecular mechanisms that underlie Schwann cell-neuron interactions that drive myelin formation, neuronal differentiation and nerve regeneration following trauma.

Current research interests of his lab include:

1. the transcription factor networks in Schwann cells that drive myelination during development and demyelination following nerve trauma
2. the role of a class of recently discovered molecules in glia-neuron interactions and neuronal function and dysfunction

The overall objective of these studies is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the genetic and cellular interactions that underlie the development, structure and function of the peripheral nervous system and how these processes are affected in peripheral neuropathies. 

Key publications

Özkaynak E, Abello G, Jaegle M, van Berge L, Hamer D, Kegel L, Driegen S, Sagane K, Bermingham JR, Jr., Meijer D (2010)
Adam22 is a major neuronal receptor for lgi4-mediated schwann cell signaling
J Neurosci 30:3857-3864

Bermingham, J.R., Shearin, H., Pennington, J., O'Moore, J., Jaegle, M., Driegen, S., van Zon, A., Darbas, A., Ozkaynak, E., Milbrandt, J. & Meijer, D (2006)
Identification of the claw paw (clp) mutation reveals an essential role for Lgi4 in Schwann cell differentiation
Nat Neuroscience 9:76-84

Darbas, A., Jaegle, M., Walbeehm, E., van den Burg, H., Driegen, S., Broos, L., Uyl, M., Visser, P., Grosveld, F. & Meijer, D (2004)
Cell autonomy of the mouse claw paw mutation
Dev Biol 272:470-482

Jaegle, M., Ghazvini, M., Mandemakers, W., Piirsoo, M., Driegen, S., Levavasseur, F., Raghoenath, S., Grosveld, F. & Meijer, D (2003)
The POU proteins Brn-2 and Oct-6 share important functions in Schwann cell development
Genes Dev 17:1380-1391

Mandemakers, W., Zwart, R., Jaegle, M., Walbeehm, E., Visser, P., Grosveld, F. & Meijer, D (2000)
A distal Schwann cell-specific enhancer mediates axonal regulation of the Oct-6 transcription factor during peripheral nerve development and regeneration
Embo J 19:2992-3003

Jaegle, M., Mandemakers, W., Broos, L., Zwart, R., Karis, A., Visser, P., Grosveld, F. & Meijer, D (1996)
The POU factor Oct-6 and Schwann cell differentiation
Science 273:507-510