PhD defence
From histology to omics: A spatial atlas of muscle fiber-type architecture in health and disease
- C. Martinez Mir
- Date
- Tuesday 27 October 2026
- Time
- Location
-
Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Supervisor(s)
- Prof.dr. N. Geijsen
- dr. F.G. Sage
- dr. A. Alemany
Summary
Skeletal muscle is among of the largest and most metabolically active organs in the human body. Through its primary function of generating force, skeletal muscles play a central role in major physiological processes, including movement, respiration, digestion and metabolic homeostasis. Myofibers are the contractile units responsible for force generation, and different fiber types determine the contractile speed, force output, and metabolic profile of different muscles. Over the past decades, advances in omics technologies have expanded our knowledge on how molecular pathways shape skeletal muscle heterogeneity. However, despite these advances, it remains poorly understood whether molecular and cellular heterogeneity is spatially organized across intact skeletal muscles.
This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by systematically mapping the spatial organization of skeletal muscle across multiple molecular layers. By integrating spatial transcriptomics, spatial metabolomics, epigenetics, and histology, it characterizes how gene expression, metabolism, fiber-type composition, and DNA methylation are distributed across whole muscles in healthy and dystrophic conditions. Together, these approaches generate a spatial atlas of muscle architecture, providing new insight into muscle heterogeneity and its implications for muscle function and disease.
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
Press enquiries (journalists only)
General information
Beadle's Office
pedel@bb.leidenuniv.nl
+31 71 527 7211