
Head of Human Organoid Platform
at Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel
Dr. Magdalena Renner is a molecular biologist with a focus on developing 3D organoid systems derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, such as cerebral organoids and retinal organoids. Her goal is to advance basic science and clinical translation by creating new, complex human disease models. Dr. Renner's experience in validating a new cancer drug target during her master's thesis at Boehringer Ingelheim in 2012 highlighted the need for more complex cell culture models to study human disease beyond 2D cancer drug screening. During her PhD at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna from 2012 to 2016, Dr. Renner worked with Madeline Lancaster to develop and characterize cerebral organoids, a novel model system for human brain development. In her postdoctoral training (2016-2019) at the Novartis Postdoctoral Program in Basel, Dr. Renner developed and characterized a new method to culture light-sensitive, five-layered retinal organoids in high throughput under the supervision of Botond Roska and Florian Nigsch. Since July 2019, Dr. Renner has been leading the Human Organoid Platform at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Switzerland. In this collaborative role, she is involved in various projects, including further developing the retinal organoid method, conducting disease studies in retinal organoids, and supporting the use of retinal organoids for clinical translation and drug screening.
Education
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology
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