The Monteiro lab is interested in the genetic programming of haemogenic endothelial cells and in the biology of blood stem cells in development and disease. This includes extrinsic factors such as TGFbeta and Notch, as well as transcriptional and epigenetic regulators of lineage fate decisions and cis regulatory elements that are required for haematopoiesis.
Rui started as a Biochemistry undergraduate, studying Notch target genes in chick embryos. He went on to pursue a PhD in Developmental Biology at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands. During this period and identified two BMP receptors that were required for left-right asymmetry. Later he joined Roger Patient’s lab to do research on developmental haematopoiesis. In 2014, Rui became a Principal Investigator in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford and in 2016 he became a University Research Lecturer. He has joined the University of Birmingham in 2018 as a Birmingham Fellow and is currently an Associate Professor in Developmental Haematopoiesis.