Welcoming our new summer student: Chaoyi Cheng

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

Chaoyi joined our lab as a summer intern in June 2025. He is currently an undergraduate majoring in biological science at Peking University, where he conducts research on the molecular mechanisms underlying autism-related neurodevelopmental disorders using mouse and Drosophila models. Motivated by a desire to deepen his understanding of early human development, Chaoyi joined the Theunissen lab focusing on generation of stem-cell-based embryo models. In his free time, Chaoyi is a badminton player.

The Stem Cell Report Podcast

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

Thor was interviewed on The Stem Cell Report Podcast about our recent paper on tracking and mitigating imprint erasure during induction of naive human pluripotency (Fischer et al., Stem Cell Reports, 2025). Thanks Janet Rossant for hosting and Gal Keshet from the Benvenisty Lab at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem for a stimulating conversation!

Check out the podcast here: https://invt.io/1lxbgjymsg3

Visit to McGill and CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

Thor visited snowy Montreal January 29-31, 2025, to present our latest work at two world-class institutions. Thanks, Will Pastor, for hosting me at McGill Biochemistry and Serge McGraw for hosting me at CHU Sainte-Justine. It was inspiring to see the exciting stem cell research being done in Quebec. Je vous remercie de m’avoir invité!

Seminar at CHU Sainte-Justine:

Dinner with Alex Dubrac, Serge McGraw, and Anthony Flamier (a fellow Jaenisch lab alum):

Group photo with the Pastor lab (sans Will):

Welcoming our new postdoc: Dr. Regan Scott

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

We’re pleased to announce the arrival of our new postdoc, Dr. Regan Scott, from the Michael J. Soares lab at Kansas University Medical Center. Regan received her B.S. from Kansas State University and M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Kansas City University. During her graduate studies with Professor Soares, Regan studied placental development with a focus on trophoblast stem cell differentiation to the invasive lineage. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2025, she joined the Theunissen lab to continue advancing the field of stem cell and developmental biology. Regan is a strong advocate for scientific research and reproductive health, and in her spare time she enjoys baking, doing puzzles, being outdoors, and spending time with family, friends, and her pets.

Regan, welcome to the team!