After college Huch decided she wanted to work in science because of a desire to understand how aspirin works.[2] Huch was an undergraduate student at the University of Barcelona, where she studied pharmaceutical sciences.[3] She remained there for her graduate studies, earning a Master in 2003 and doctorate in 2007. She completed her PhD research in the Centre for Genomic Regulation, where she worked alongside Cristina Fillat.[4] After completing her doctoral research she spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow before moring to the Hubrecht Institute on a Marie Curie Fellowship. In Utrecht she worked in the laboratory of Hans Clevers, where she isolated the stem cells responsible for the turnover of the adult stomach.[5]
Inflammation and tissue damage are associated with chronic liver disease and cancer.[2] Her group have extensively developed human organoid models to study the molecular basis of adult tissue regeneration.[9][10] Having identified stem cells responsible for the rapid turnover of the adult stomach, Huch showed that they could be maintained in culture.[5] Next she moved on to liver cells, demonstrating the replicative potential of progenitor cells during regeneration and showing they are promising candidates for future therapeutic interventions in liver diseases.[5][11] Her research has the potential to reduce the use of animals in scientific research.[12][13]
