Lucas Unger

SCIENTIFIC CAREER

Since 2026 Researcher at Center for Diabetes Research, Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway

2021 – 2025 PhD candidate at Center for Diabetes Research, Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway

2019 – 2021 Master in Biology, Specialization in Molecular Biology, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany

2016 – 2019 Bachelor of Science, University Heidelberg, Germany

PUBLICATIONS while in the lab

  1. Unger L, Larsen U, Legøy TA, Hossain MK, Gudmestad JH, Friestad A, Sharmine S, Njølstad PR, Ræder H, Herrera PL, Ghila L, Chera S. Defective HNF1A hinders GLI3 processing favouring duodenal versus pancreatic fate thus leading to intestinal elongation in vivo. Genes & Development 2026 Mar 26. doi: 10.1101/gad.353153.125.
  2. Gudmestad JH, Unger L, Paulo JA, Ghila L,  Legøy TA. Endocrine Disrupting Chemical Exposure During Differentiation Alters the Proliferation-Maturation Balance in Stem-Cell islets. 
  3. Sharmine S, Legøy TA, Unger L, Paulo JA, Ghila L, Chera S. Caloric Restriction Substantially Improves Glucose Regulation in Mice With Hnf1a-Deficient Beta-Cells. Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2025 Dec;241(12):e70121. doi: 10.1111/apha.70121.
  4. Unger L#, Larsen U, Sharmine S, Hossain MK, Legøy TA, Vaudel M, Ghila L, Chera S#. Efficient cytoplasmic cell quantification using a semi-automated FIJI-based tool. Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 28;15(1):27509. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-12144-x.
  5. Hossain MK, Unger L, Larsen U, Altankhuyag A, Legøy TA, Paulo JA, Vethe H, Ghila L. Mapping the initial effects of carcinogen-induced oncogenic transformation in the mouse bladder. Exp Cell Res. 2025 Feb 21:114452. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2025.114452.
  6. Vašíček J, Kuznetsova KG, Skiadopoulou D, Unger L, Chera S, Ghila LM, Bandeira N, Njølstad PR, Johansson S, Bruckner S, Käll L, Vaudel M. ProHap enables human proteomic database generation accounting for population diversity. Nat Methods 9 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02506-0
  7. Mathisen AF, Larsen U, Kavli N, Unger L, Vacaru AM, Daian LM, Vacaru A-M, Herrera PL, Ghila L, Chera S. Moderate beta-cell ablation triggers synergic compensatory mechanisms even in the absence of overt metabolic disruption. Commun Biol 7, 833 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06527-5
  8. *Mathisen AF, *Vacaru AM, Unger L, Lamba EM, Mardare OA, Daian LM, Ghila L, Vacaru AM#, Chera S#. Molecular profiling of NOD mouse islets reveals a novel regulator of insulitis onset. Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 25;14(1):14669. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65454-x. PMID: 38918575
  9. Mathisen AF, Legøy TA, Larsen U, Unger L, Abadpour S, Paulo JA, Scholz H, Ghila L, Chera S. The age-dependent regulation of pancreatic islet landscape is fueled by a HNF1a-immune signaling loop. Mech Ageing Dev. 2024 May 31:111951. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2024.111951
  10. Unger L, Mathisen AF, Chera S, Legøy TA, Ghila L. The GLI code controls HNF1A levels during foregut differentiation. Int. J. Dev. Biol. 2024; 52: 220 doi: 10.1387/ijdb.230220lg
  11. Unger L, Ghila L, Chera S.Targeted Gene Silencing by Using GapmeRs in Differentiating Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC) Toward Pancreatic Progenitors. Methods Mol Biol. 2023 Aug 25. doi: 10.1007/7651_2023_498. PMID: 37615889

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

  1. Lucas Unger, Thomas Aga Legøy, Luiza Ghila, Simona Chera. Exploring hedgehog signaling and HNF1A Crosstalk in HNF1A-MODY stem cell islets EASD Annual Meeting 2024, 9-14 September 2024 Madrid, Spain
  2. Lucas Unger: Exploring the role of transcription factors HNF1A, HNF1B, and HNF4A in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived pancreatic islet cell differentiation The 18th Annual Research Presentations by the Research School in Clinical Medicine, 24–26 January 2024 Bergen, Norway
  3. Lucas Unger, Thomas Aga Legøy, Andreas Mathisen, Luiza Ghila, and Simona Chera.”Unraveling the contribution of HNF1A, HNF1B, and HNF4A to monogenic diabetes-associated pancreatic SC-derived islet cell differentiation” EASD Annual Meeting 2023, 2-6 October 2023 Hamburg, Germany
  4. Lucas Unger, Amanda Friestad, Thomas Aga Legøy, Andreas Frøslev Mathisen, Luiza Ghila, Simona Chera.”Exploring the role of transcription factors HNF1A, HNF1B, and HNF4A in human SC-derived pancreatic islet cell differentiation” 57th Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Society for the Study of Diabetes (SSSD2023) 24-26 May 2023 Aarhus Denmark

POSTER presentations

  1. Lucas Unger, Ulrik Larsen, Thomas Aga Legøy, Luiza Ghila, Simona Chera. Early Developmental Shifts and Diverse Cell Fate Alterations Driven by HNF1A ISSCR 2025 Annual Meeting, 11-14 June 2025 Hong Kong
  2. Lucas Unger, Andreas F. Mathisen, Thomas Aga Legøy, Simona Chera, Luiza Ghila. Deciphering the HNF1A and Hedgehog Signaling Crosstalk during Stem Cell Islet differentiation, The Nordic Developmental Biology Societies & Michael Sars Symposium Joint Meeting, 28-31 May 2024, Bergen, Norway
  3. Lucas Unger, Luiza Ghila, Simona Chera. “Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation”. 3rd Nordic Meeting on Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration, 5-7th October 2022, Copenhagen, Denmark
  4. Lucas Unger, Thomas Aga Legøy, Luiza Ghila, Simona Chera. “Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation”. Summer School in Transcriptomics 27-30 June 2022 Sandvik Gård, Sweden

Journal Club Posts

  1. Comparative and integrative single cell analysis reveals new insights into the transcriptional immaturity of stem cell-derived β cells
  2. Snake venom protection by a cocktail of varespladib and broadly neutralizing human antibodies
  3. CRISPR screening uncovers a central requirement for HHEX in pancreatic lineage commitment and plasticity restriction
  4. HNF1A and A1CF coordinate a beta cell transcription-splicing axis that is disrupted in type 2 diabetes
  5. Somatostatin venom analogs evolved by fish-hunting cone snails: From prey capture behavior to identifying drug leads