Blood vessel organoid. Credit: Robin Group, Copyright: Hubrecht Institute 23 October 2025 Marie Curie Fellowship for Fabien Boudia Back to news Fabien Boudia, postdoctoral researcher in the group of Catherine Robin, has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European Commission. This type of fellowship is intended to support researchers’ careers and foster excellence in research. With this fellowship, he will study how blood vessel cells can transform into blood stem cells, using advanced organoid models. Blood stem cells and donors Blood cells have various roles in keeping us alive and healthy: they transport oxygen, fight infections and help prevent excessive bleeding. To make sure these functions continue, blood cells need to be constantly replenished by blood stem cells, which originate from the bone marrow. When blood stem cells do not work properly, the entire blood system is affected. This can lead to serious diseases such as leukemia. Transplantation of healthy blood stem cells from volunteer donors is often the only curative treatment. However, it is often very difficult to find a suitable donor, which makes it important to find new ways of producing blood stem cells. Where do blood stem cells come from? Producing transplantable blood stem cells in the laboratory could eliminate the reliance on donors, reduce complications and provide a reliable source of patient-specific blood stem cells. To achieve this, we first need to better understand how these stem cells are made in the body. During embryonic development, blood stem cells arise from a special type of blood vessel cells. Signals from their environment, including the force of blood flow, trigger these cells to transform into blood stem cells. Although this process is essential for blood formation, scientists still know little about how it is controlled. By using blood vessel organoids, miniature versions of blood vessels grown in the lab, Fabien aims to mimic these natural conditions and uncover how blood stem cells can be generated in a controlled way. Towards future therapies In his project, Fabien will adapt blood vessel organoids to produce blood stem cells in the lab from blood vessel cells. By mimicking blood flow in these organoids, he can study how biomechanical forces influence blood stem cell formation and test ways to improve it. This approach not only helps to unravel a fundamental biological process but could also provide the basis for generating blood stem cells for patients. In the long term, such advances may reduce the dependence on donors and make new treatments possible for people with blood disorders. About the MSCA Fellowships The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships support the careers of talented researchers by funding international mobility and advanced training opportunities. In this year’s round, 1,696 out of 10,360 applicants received a fellowship.
