Kirsty Spalding's Group

Kirsty Spalding, Senior researcher

Originally from Australia, I completed my PhD in the field of neuroscience at the University of Western Australia. This was followed by postdoctoral studies at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, where I switched from studying neuronal cell death to neuronal birth.  During the later stages of my postdoctoral period I started a side project looking at fat cell turnover in human adipose tissue. This project developed in to several more projects and now the major interest of my research group is the turnover and maintenance of human adipose tissue, in health and pathology.

Lena Appelsved, Laboratory engineer

I have a Bachelor of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at KI. I have been working in the Spalding group as a lab manager since 2012. Between 1993 and 2012 I was working as a research scientist at AstraZeneca R&D, CNS and Pain. I have 3 years experience at a Clinical Immunology lab at Huddinge hospital as a laboratory technician. I have many administrative tasks in the group, but also contribute to various scientific project. 

Endre Kiss, flow cytometrist/research technician

My main tasks in the laboratory include the operation of a Beckman Coulter MoFlo XDP high-speed cell sorter, performing flow citometric analysis/sorting of primary human cells and processing samples for cell turnover projects. I am also responsible for the general maintenance of a Zeiss LSM700 laser-scanning confocal microscope.

Carolina Hagberg, Postdoc

I am a senior postdoctoral scientist studying novel aspects of human adipocyte biology in relation to obesity and diabetes. I mainly work with human clinical tissue samples to interrogate the correlation between patient metabolic health and white adipose tissue homeostasis, including how the expanding fat mass responds to dysregulated trophic signaling pathways in diabetes. I have also been developing novel methods to study adipocytes, including adipocyte flow cytometry and staining techniques.

Firoozeh Salehzadeh, Postdoc

I am studying the heterogeneity of human adipocytes, using single cell technologies to understand the cellular complexities and functional heterogeneity of adipocytes in different human fat depots. 

Christina Jones, Postdoc

I am investigating podocyte regeneration in the human kidney, using radiocarbon dating of human cells to define cell turnover dynamics in kidney health and disease.

Qian Li, PhD student

I am studying the biological mechanisms underlying adipocyte turnover and obesity development, performing in vivo and in vitro studies with mouse and human white adipose tissues.

Keng-Yeh Fu, PhD student

I am investigating human mature adipocyte and preadipocyte turnover rates from both visceral and subcutaneous fat depots using radiocarbon dating, in lean and obese individuals.

Maria Kutschke, Laboratory technician

I support most projects in the group. My main tasks include human adipocyte isolation, mouse studies and cell/tissue preparation for FACS, microscopy, stereology and a range of other analytical techniques. I also have extensive experience in mitochondrial bioenergetics.

Helena Silva Cascales, Post doc

I am studying the molecular mechanisms mediating adipocyte turnover in white adipose tissue from healthy and metabolically unhealthy patients to understand the factors that contribute to the development of metabolic disease.