Ridvan Cetin
Research
My research is focused on the DCM-Time Machine, a technology that records which genes and enhancers were active in a cell earlier in its life. Single-cell methods and surface markers tell us what a cell is now. But a gene or enhancer may be active only briefly during differentiation and silent again by the time we capture the cell, so the events that shaped its fate leave no trace we can measure directly. In my research, we aim to improve the DCM-Time Machine system and extend its applications in mammalian cells, so that we can recover the regulatory history of a differentiating cell rather than infer it. To do this, I work with bacterial methyltransferases tethered to the cell’s own transcription machinery, so that genes and enhancers are marked while they are active. The mark is inherited through cell division, so differentiation can continue and the record is read out at a later time point.
Alongside this, I develop a single-cell lineage-tracing method, scRIPT, which achieves 95% lineage barcode capture efficiency and is suitable for large-scale in vitro applications. I apply both technologies to early hemato-endothelial development, where blood and endothelial lineages separate from other mesoderm, to map the gene regulatory networks behind these early fate decisions.
Curriculum Vitae
I did my PhD at Erasmus MC Rotterdam in the Department of Cell Biology, in the laboratory of Frank Grosveld. where I mapped the regulatory gene networks that direct early hemato-endothelial differentiation, using mouse embryonic stem cells as a model. To do this I used CRISPR knockouts, single-cell genomics, scRIPT (a single-cell lineage-tracing method), and the DCM-Time Machine and performed most of my own bioinformatic analysis. Before moving into research, I trained as an army medical doctor and obtained my medical degree at the Gulhane Military Medical Academy in Ankara, Turkey.
In January 2027, I joined the Gribnau group at the Department of Cell and Chemical Biology as a postdoctoral researcher, working on DCM technology and its applications. I work both at the bench and on computational analysis, and I share my analysis code at github.com/ridvan-cetin.
Publications
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scRIPT: a rapid, high-coverage single-cell lineage-tracing method applied to the hematoendothelial differentiation of embryonic stem cells.
Ridvan Cetin, Eric Bindels, Jente van Staalduinen, Lucas Kuijpers, Giulia Picco, Mathijs A. Sanders, Remco M. Hoogenboezem, Gregory van Beek, Joost Gribnau, Eskeatnaf Mulugeta, Danny Huylebroeck, Frank Grosveld
bioRxiv 2026.10.14.759042; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.14.759042
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Distinct roles of Atf3, Zfp711 and Bcl6b in early embryonic hematopoietic and endothelial lineage specification
Ridvan Cetin, Giulia Picco, Jente van Staalduinen, Eric Bindels, Remco Hoogenboezem, Gregory van Beek, Mathijs A. Sanders, Yaren Fidan, Ahmet Korkmaz, Joost Gribnau, Jeffrey van Haren, Danny Huylebroeck, Eskeatnaf Mulugeta, Frank Grosveld
Development 1 December 2025; 152 (23): dev204792. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.204792
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Functional analysis of two uncharacterized genes, C130074G19Rik and I830077J02Rik, during early hematopoietic development.
Giulia Picco*, Ridvan Cetin*, Eric Bindels, Gregory van Beek, Wilfred F. J. van IJcken, Mirjam van den Hout, Petros Kolovos, Eskeatnaf Mulugeta, Danny Huylebroeck, Frank Grosveld
J Cell Sci 15 January 2026; 139 (2): jcs264487. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.264487
Groups:
Gribnau lab
