The Systems Pathology Research Group studies how the environment shapes immunometabolic resilience through the lens of systemic diseases.
Biology under pressure | Humans are an integral part of their environment. Our bodies are dynamic systems that must constantly adapt to co-existing stressors, from a changing climate and environmental pollutants to emerging infectious diseases. These pressures rarely target a single organ; they challenge the multi-organ system as a whole. To foster lifelong health, we must therefore understand how organs jointly cope with environmental stress to maintain or regain homeostasis.
Multi-scalar measurement ecosystem | Central to our methods is the development of a multi-scalar measurement ecosystem. We connect macro-level geospatial reasoning all the way down to the micro-scale through tissue exposomics, the direct measurement of the exposome within the tissue microenvironment (TME) as an integral layer of spatial multi-omic biology.
Mapping systemic resilience | By tracing how the outside world becomes biologically embedded in our cellular networks, we aim to uncover the tipping points where adaptation fails, and disease begins. Ultimately, our goal is to identify precisely how stressed biological systems can be redirected toward resilience, recovery, and multi-organ health.
The Systems Pathology Research Groups is multidisciplinary by design and is divided into 2 interconnected themes:
Theme I (lead: Alessandra Tammaro): Computational Tissue Exposomics: a.tammaro@lumc.nl
Theme II (lead: Jesper Kers): Systemic Immunopathology: j.kers@lumc.nl
The Systems Pathology Research Group is part of the digital Institute for Advanced Renal Pathology spanning Leiden University Medical Center, Erasmus Medical Center and Amsterdam University Medical Center.
