About
I am a cell biologist interested in signaling pathways that are important in development and cancer. I have used a variety of model organisms for my research - zebrafish, fruit flies, mice and mini-organs, so-called organoids. I did my PhD in the laboratory of Professor Harald Stenmark at the Institute for Cancer Research at the Radium hospital, where I worked on the intracellular transport of proteins that reside on the cell's surface. These function as the cell's feet and are essential for a cell to be able to move (they are called integrins). I then became interested in cell polarity, which is one of the aspects that first gets dysregulated in a cancer cell. To study this further I obtained a postdoc stipend from Helse Sør Øst with a stay abroad, which took me to Australia at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne. There I learned how to use the developing intestine of the zebrafish to study colorectal cancer. I came back to Oslo in 2015 and moved on to using human cells in 3D as well as organoids first in the lab of Harald Stenmark, then in the lab of Tor Erik Rusten, where I also performed some experiments in fruit flies. Teaching has become a true passion for me, and I have previously taught developmental biology at the University of Oslo, cell and molecular biology as well as pathology at Østfold University College, and cell signaling at NTNU. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to teach at OsloMet the Biotechnology KJTS3100 and Molecular and Cell Biology KJM3500 courses, part of the Biotechnology and Applied Chemistry engineering programme.
Research groups
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Lobert, Viola
; Skardal, Maren; Malerød, Lene; Simensen, Julie Elisabeth; Algra, Hermine Arida; Andersen, Aram Nikolai; Fleischer, Thomas; Enserink, Hilde Abrahamsen; Liestøl, Knut; Heath, Joan K; Stenmark, Harald; Rusten, Tor Erik
(2022).
PHLPP1 regulates CFTR activity and lumen expansion through AMPK.
Development.
Vol. 149.
https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.200955
Romaine, Andreas; Melleby, Arne Olav; Alam, Jahedul;
Lobert, Viola
; Lu, Ning; Lockwood, Francesca Eve; Hasic, Almira; Lunde, Ida Gjervold; Sjaastad, Ivar; Stenmark, Harald; Herum, Kate Louise Møller; Gullberg, Elon Donald; Christensen, Geir
(2022).
Integrin α11β1 and syndecan-4 dual receptor ablation attenuates cardiac hypertrophy in the pressure overloaded heart.
American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
Vol. 322.
https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00635.2021
Dillard, Pierre; Lie, Maren; Baken, Elizabeth;
Lobert, Viola
; Benard, Emmanuelle; Köksal, Hakan; Inderberg, Else Marit; Wälchli, Sébastien
(2020).
Colorectal cysts as a validating tool for CAR therapy.
BMC Biotechnology.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-020-00623-0
Hurem, Selma; Gomes, Tania; Brede, Dag Anders; Mayer, Ian;
Lobert, Viola
; Mutoloki, Stephen; Gutzkow, Kristine Bjerve; Teien, Hans-Christian; Oughton, Deborah Helen; Alestrøm, Peter; Lyche, Jan Ludvig
(2018).
Gamma irradiation during gametogenesis in young adult zebrafish causes persistent genotoxicity and adverse reproductive effects.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.
Vol. 154.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.02.031
O'Farrell, Fergal;
Lobert, Viola
; Sneeggen, Marte; Jain, Ashish; Katheder, Nadja Sandra; Wenzel, Eva; Schultz, Sebastian; Tan, Kia Wee; Brech, Andreas; Stenmark, Harald Alfred; Rusten, Tor Erik
(2017).
Class III phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase controls
epithelial integrity through endosomal LKB1 regulation.
Nature Cell Biology.
Vol. 19.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb3631
Griffiths, Gareth Wyn; Müller, Ferenc; Ledin, Johan; Patton, E. Elizabeth; Gjøen, Tor;
Lobert, Viola
; Winther-Larsen, Hanne Cecilie; Mullins, Mary; Joly, Jean-Stephane; Weltzien, Finn-Arne; Press, Charles McLean; Alestrøm, Peter
(2016).
Fish from Head to Tail: The 9th European Zebrafish Meeting in Oslo.
Zebrafish.
https://doi.org/10.1089/zeb.2015.1212
Lobert, Viola
; Mouradov, Dmitri; Heath, Joan K.
(2016).
Focusing the Spotlight on the Zebrafi sh
Intestine to Illuminate Mechanisms
of Colorectal Cancer.
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology.
Vol. 916.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30654-4_18
Holland, Petter; Knævelsrud, Helene; Søreng, Kristiane; Mathai, Benan John; Lystad, Alf Håkon; Pankiv, Serhiy; Bjørndal, Gunnveig Toft; Schultz, Sebastian;
Lobert, Viola
; Chan, Robin B; Zhou, Bowen; Liestøl, Knut; Carlsson, Sven R; Melia, Thomas J; Di Paolo, Gilbert; Simonsen, Anne
(2016).
HS1BP3 negatively regulates autophagy by modulation of phosphatidic acid levels.
Nature Communications.
Vol. 7.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13889
Halsne, Ruth; Tandberg, Julia Isabel;
Lobert, Viola
; Østby, Gunn Charlotte; Thoen, Even; Ropstad, Erik; Verhaegen, Steven
(2016).
Effects of perfluorinated alkyl acids on cellular responses of MCF-10A mammary epithelial cells in monolayers and on acini formation in vitro.
Toxicology Letters.
Vol. 259.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2016.08.004
Oppelt, Angela; Haugsten, Ellen Margrethe; Zech, Tobias; Danielsen, Håvard Emil; Sveen, Anita;
Lobert, Viola Helene
; Skotheim, Rolf Inge; Wesche, Jørgen
(2014).
PIKfyve, MTMR3 and their product PtdIns5P regulate cancer cell migration and invasion through activation of Rac1.
Biochemical Journal.
Vol. 461.
https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20140132