Luke Harland

Luke studied Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario (London, Canada). As a summer research student Luke developed a passion for stem cell biology in the lab of Professor Gordon Keller, differentiating human pluripotent stem cells into cardiovascular cell types, at the McEwen Stem Cell Institute (Toronto). In 2020, Luke completed a Wellcome-funded DPhil in Chromosome and Developmental Biology as a Clarendon Scholar at the University of Oxford under Professor Elizabeth J Robertson. During his DPhil he identified a novel transcriptional regulator that orchestrates the formation of the first blood cells in early mouse embryos. Following his DPhil, Luke gained industry experience as a Vertex Fellow at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, working within a multidisciplinary team on human disease modelling and drug discovery. In 2022, he joined Professor Bertie Göttgens' research group at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute as a Research Associate. Soon after, he was awarded a Wellcome Early-Career Award (2023-2028) to investigate the role of developmental history in molecular convergence and was elected as a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College in 2024.

Junior Research Fellow and Governing Body Fellow (Wolfson College)