Professor Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes research focuses on human reproduction and developmental biology. She investigates the development of the human embryo and the generation of sperm and egg cells in vivo. She also uses human induced pluripotent stem cells to study how reproductive cells develop in the lab.

Another scope of her work is the biology of the sex chromosomes (X and Y) and epigenetics, the process that regulates when genes work. This research has direct clinical applications to the preservation of fertility and for infertility treatments.

Professor Chuva de Sousa Lopes is a principal investigator within reNEW’s Leiden node and professor in developmental biology in the department of Anatomy and Embryology at the Leiden University Medical Center. Additionally, she organizes international symposia, writes regular blogs, and is involved in various international task forces generating guidelines or advice on legislation involving the use of human stem cells and embryos.

Professor Chuva de Sousa Lopes has been awarded the Snoo-van’t Hoogerhuijs Foundation prize twice and also received two ASPASIA awards from the Dutch Research Council. She has also received the prestigious ERC and VICI grants and coordinates the Dutch consortium grant ZonMW-PSIDER.