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Can Aztekin heads the new research group “Structural Regeneration” investigating the evolution and capabilities of lost limb regrowth across species.
In February 2025, Can Aztekin joined the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory (FML) in Tübingen with his “Structural Regeneration” research group. Aztekin and his group will investigate biological questions relating to limb and tail regeneration in tadpoles and mice in vitro and ex vivo (limbs grown in a petri dish without an animal body) culture systems, (single-cell) sequencing, and imaging technologies alongside traditional developmental biology approaches.
“Joining FML and the Max Planck Campus Tübingen offers an exciting new perspective on evolutionary science. I'm excited to learn and collaborate with my new colleagues and explore new concepts within the MPG environment. My lab's research focuses on limb regeneration, investigating why certain animals can or cannot regrow limbs —an evolutionary question that also has immense clinical implications,” says Can Aztekin.
“Traditionally, limb regeneration studies have centered on amphibians like frog tadpoles and axolotls to understand why regeneration fails in mammals. Over the past few years, we have developed a range of experimental and computational pipelines to tackle this question from multiple angles. Our work has paved the way for translating our findings from amphibians to mammals, while also allowing us to address broader evolutionary questions quantitatively. This work, bridging seemingly sci-fi concepts with rigorous science, is both challenging and deeply rewarding.”
Evolution of regeneration: the diverse mechanisms of tissue repair
An example of Can’s recent work has shown that embryonic mouse limbs can initiate limb regenerative processes, suggesting that the genetic blueprint may not be at fault. They are exploring environmental factors like oxygen levels, which appear to be key inhibitors. From their discoveries, species vary quantitatively in how they sense oxygen, a difference that contributes to their regenerative capabilities.
Furthermore, they take great pride in developing stem cell-based protocols and ex vivo cultures, significantly contributing to better animal testing and the 3Rs.
They also plan to delve deeper into molecular interactions, comparing species with their environments using cutting-edge molecular and computational biology techniques to innovative engineering approaches to uncover the genetic and environmental influences on regeneration.
Welcome to the institute, Can!
“Can’s research area is a great fit into our institute's range of topics. We shall all benefit greatly from his work and enthusiasm in developmental and computational biology and evolution. We are very happy to have him join us,” says Andrei Lupas, Managing Director of the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory in Tübingen.
Can obtained his PhD in 2021 at the University of Cambridge. The same year, he moved to Switzerland to establish his research group at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. His research is being supported by the Branco Weiss Fellowship and the Swiss National Science Foundation funding.
Dr. Can Aztekin
Max Planck Research Group Leader
can.aztekin@tuebingen.mpg.de
Press Office
Beatriz Lucas
presse-bio@tuebingen.mpg.de
https://www.fml.tuebingen.mpg.de/65435/news_publication_24250628_transferred?c=6...
https://www.fml.tuebingen.mpg.de/63796/aztekin-lab
Can Aztekin New Max Planck Research Group Leader
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