Prof. Marca Wauben is professor of Intercellular Communication at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, with a background in biology. Wauben's research looks into how cells communicate with each other. How can cells located in different parts of the body communicate? This is the focus of Wauben’s research, working with colleagues, post-docs and PhD candidates. She has a particular specialism in how communication takes place along membrane bubbles, which are miniscule particles discharged by the cell and made up of lipids, proteins and genetic information. These membrane bubbles can be found in all bodily fluids.
“My research sits within a new research field with enormous potential”
It's important that we gain more expertise in exactly how cells communicate as that will make communication faults – diseases, in other words – easier to identify. Wauben uses an advanced flowcytometer to count and study the miniscule membrane bubbles that cannot be seen through a normal microscope. The sensitivity of this device and the measurement method that has been developed is so unique that scientists all over the world want to use it. That's good news, because Wauben’s work sits at the interface of various sciences and disciplines, and she is particularly keen to collaborate with other scientists.