Sabine Daemen

Post doc

Dr Sabine Daemen obtained her Bachelor and Master degree Biomedical Sciences at Maastricht University. In 2014 she was awarded a NWO NUTRIM graduate grant to studymuscle lipotoxicity in type 2 diabetes as a PhD student in the Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences under supervision of Prof. Matthijs Hesselink. Using advanced microscopic techniques, her research obtained important insights in how muscle fat contributes to insulin resistance.

After obtaining her PhD in 2019, she moved to the USA to start as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Joel Schilling at Washington University in St. Louis. During her postdoctoral research she examined the role of macrophages in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH (formerly NASH)) and was among the first to demonstrate distinct subpopulations of macrophages in murine and human MASH.

In 2022 Sabine obtained a MSCA Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellowship to return to Maastricht and continue her research on macrophage subpopulations in MASH in the lab of Dr Kristiaan Wouters. In this project she investigates the role of adipose tissue inflammation in driving hepatic macrophage phenotypes and the subsequent impact on MASH-associated fibrosis. For in-depth immunophenotyping of tissue and blood immune cells Sabine set-up a platform using spectral flow cytometry. She is also co-applicant on Dr Wouters TKI grant translATe-NASH in which she studies the human adipose tissue-liver axis in biopsies from patients.

Department of Internal Medicine
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
Room number: H5.326
T: +31(0)43 388 78 18

  • 2024
    • Chan, M. M., He, L., Finck, B. N., Schilling, J. D., & Daemen, S. (2024). Cutting Edge: Hepatic Stellate Cells Drive the Phenotype of Monocyte-derived Macrophages to Regulate Liver Fibrosis in Metabolic Dysfunction-associated. Journal of Immunology, 213(3), 251-256. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.2300847
  • 2023
    • Chan, M. M., Daemen, S., Beals, J. W., Terekhova, M., Yang, B. Q., Fu, C. F., He, L., Park, A. C., Smith, G. I., Razani, B., Byrnes, K., Beatty, W. L., Eckhouse, S. R., Eagon, J. C., Ferguson, D., Finck, B. N., Klein, S., Artyomov, M. N., & Schilling, J. D. (2023). Steatosis drives monocyte-derived macrophage accumulation in human metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease. JHEP Reports, 5(11), Article 100877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100877
    • Gemmink, A., Daemen, S., Wefers, J., Hansen, J., van Moorsel, D., Astuti, P., Jorgensen, J. A., Kornips, E., Schaart, G., Hoeks, J., Schrauwen, P., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2023). Twenty-four hour rhythmicity in mitochondrial network connectivity and mitochondrial respiration; a study in human skeletal muscle biopsies of young lean and older individuals with obesity. Molecular Metabolism, 72(1), Article 101727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101727
  • 2021
    • Daemen, S., van Polanen, N., Bilet, L., Phielix, E., Moonen-Kornips, E., Schrauwen-Hinderling, V. B., Schrauwen, P., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2021). Postexercise changes in myocellular lipid droplet characteristics of young lean individuals are affected by circulatory nonesterified fatty acids. American Journal of Physiology : Endocrinology and Metabolism, 321(4), E453-E463. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00654.2020
    • Gemmink, A., Daemen, S., Brouwers, B., Hoeks, J., Schaart, G., Knoops, K., Schrauwen, P., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2021). Decoration of myocellular lipid droplets with perilipins as a marker for in vivo lipid droplet dynamics: A super-resolution microscopy study in trained athletes and insulin resistant individuals. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, 1866(2), Article 158852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbalip.2020.158852
    • Houzelle, A., Jorgensen, J. A., Schaart, G., Daemen, S., van Polanen, N., Fealy, C. E., Hesselink, M. K. C., Schrauwen, P., & Hoeks, J. (2021). Human skeletal muscle mitochondrial dynamics in relation to oxidative capacity and insulin sensitivity. Diabetologia, 64(2), 424-436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-020-05335-w
  • 2020
    • Daemen, S., Gemmink, A., Paul, A., Billecke, N., Rieger, K., Parekh, S. H., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2020). Label-free CARS microscopy reveals similar triacylglycerol acyl chain length and saturation in myocellular lipid droplets of athletes and individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia, 63(12), 2654-2664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-020-05266-6
  • 2019
    • Dahlmans, D., Houzelle, A., Andreux, P., Wang, X., Jorgensen, J. A., Moullan, N., Daemen, S., Kersten, S., Auwerx, J., & Hoeks, J. (2019). MicroRNA-382 silencing induces a mitonuclear protein imbalance and activates the mitochondrial unfolded protein response in muscle cells. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 234(5), 6601-6610. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.27401
  • 2018
    • Daemen, S., Gemmink, A., Brouwers, B., Meex, R. C. R., Huntjens, P. R., Schaart, G., Moonen-Komips, E., Jorgensen, J., Hoeks, J., Schrauwen, P., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2018). Distinct lipid droplet characteristics and distribution unmask the apparent contradiction of the athlete's paradox. Molecular Metabolism, 17, 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2018.08.004
    • Gemmink, A., Daemen, S., Kuijpers, H. J. H., Schaart, G., Duimel, H., Lopez-Iglesias, C., van Zandvoort, M. A. M. J., Knoops, K., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2018). Super-resolution microscopy localizes perilipin 5 at lipid droplet-mitochondria interaction sites and at lipid droplets juxtaposing to perilipin 2. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, 1863(11), 1423-1432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbalip.2018.08.016
    • Gemmink, A., Daemen, S., Brouwers, B., Huntjens, P. R., Schaart, G., Moonen-Kornips, E., Jorgensen, J., Hoeks, J., Schrauwen, P., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2018). Dissociation of intramyocellular lipid storage and insulin resistance in trained athletes and type 2 diabetes patients; involvement of perilipin 5?Journal of Physiology, 596(5), 857-868. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP275182
    • Daemen, S., van Polanen, N., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2018). The effect of diet and exercise on lipid droplet dynamics in human muscle tissue. Journal of Experimental Biology, 221, Article 167015. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.167015
  • 2017
    • Hesselink, M. K. C., Daemen, S., van Polanen, N., & Gemmink, A. (2017). What are the benefits of being big?Journal of Physiology, 595(16), 5409-5410. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP274723
  • 2016
    • Daemen, S., van Zandvoort, M. A. M. J., Parekh, S. H., & Hesselink, M. K. C. (2016). Microscopy tools for the investigation of intracellular lipid storage and dynamics. Molecular Metabolism, 5(3), 153-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2015.12.005