Previous seminars can be viewed on our Youtube Channel.
Fall 2025
October 23rd 2025
Laura Rustarazo-Calvo, Petridou lab, EMBL Heidelberg Germany "Uncoupling adhesion- and density-driven rigidity transitions triggers epithelial organization in embryonic tissues"
Alikhan Yeltokov, Finegan-Bergstralh lab, Universities of Rochester and Missouri USA "Pushing forces stabilize spindle movement in diverse geometries"
October 9th 2025
Nilay Taneja, Zallen Lab, Memorial Sloan Kettering USA "Force sensing by the actin cytoskeleton in multicellular tissues"
Clara Sidor, Schnorrer Lab, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IBDM France "How to build a muscle: myosin orchestrates the self-organisation of sarcomere components into periodic myofibrils"
September 25th 2025
Michael Glotzer, University of Chicago USA "Cytokinesis and the evolution of Metazoa"
Verena Kaul, Lemke Lab, Hohenheim University Germany "Preventing mechanical tissue collisions: divergent strategies during fly gastrulation"
Spring 2025
Jan. 23
Investigating the mechanics of neural tube morphogenesis
Eirini Maniou – University of Padova Italy
Organ morphogenesis in 3D
Timothy Saunders – University of Warwick UK
Feb. 6
Dynamics of cell and nuclear shapes during collective cell migration in Drosophila
Jocelyn McDonald – Kansas State University USA
Shaping the spermatheca-uterine valve: scaffolding, cell squeezing, and the tango of two lineages
Meghna Suhag – Tel Aviv University Israel
Feb. 20
Getting there in one piece: how the Rac pathway prevents cell fragmentation during leader cell migration in C. elegans gonadogenesis
Noor Singh – University of North Carolina Chapel Hill USA
The cellular biomechanics of mammalian neurulation
Gabriel Galea – University College London UK
Mar. 6
Division orientation modulation reveals robust tissue intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms governing epithelial cell number
Floris Bosveld – Institut Curie France
Adhesion mechanics during pre-implantation mouse morphogenesis
Joseph Mathew Kalappurakkal – University of Cambridge/Caltech UK/USA
Apr. 3
Mechanisms by which cell-ECM interactions orient mitotic spindle to preserve monolayer epithelium structure
Lola Martin-Bermudo – Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology Spain
Tissue-specific in vivo microrheology reveals the biophysical properties of the cytoplasm in developing C. elegans
Gant Luxton – University of California, Davis USA
Fall 2024
Sep. 26
Beyond two dimensions: exploring epithelial monolayers in depth
Tara Finegan – University of Missouri USA
Fascinating flows and emergent mechanics in simple marine animals
Vivek Prakash – University of Miami USA
Oct. 10
Semaphorin-Plexin antagonism enables mesenchymal collective cell migration during morphogenesis
Maik Bischoff – University of North Carolina Chapel Hill USA
Polonaise in the posterior: supracellular mechanics during tailbud morphogenesis
Geneva Masak – University of Pittsburgh USA
Oct. 24
Pulses of RhoA signaling drive collective cell migration
Weiyi Qian – New York University USA
Crafting robust patterns in developing tissues under mechanical stress
Giulia Paci – University College London UK
Nov. 7
Gastrulation and left-right patterning in Veiled chameleons
Natalia Shylo – Stowers Institute for Medical Research USA
Mechanics of epithelial shells
Nimesh Chahare – Columbia University USA
Nov. 21
Compressive stress drives morphogenetic apoptosis
Tatiana Merle – Toulouse Center for Integrative Biology France
Balanced interactions of cardiac progenitors with Fibronectin and Tenascin C regulate heart development
Sophie Astrof – Rutgers University USA
Spring 2024
Jan. 25
Shaping developing tissues via dynamic signaling gradients
Diana Pinheiro – IMP Vienna Austria
Tension-driven multi-scale self-organization in human iPSC-derived muscle fibers
Qiyan Mao – Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille France
Feb. 8
Branching morphogenesis: exploring the scaling law and its underlying molecular determinants
Maijia Liao – Northeastern University USA
Mechanics of Hydra regeneration and role of topological defects
Yonit Maroudas-Sacks – Technion, Israel Institute of Technology Israel
Feb. 22
Collective cell migration driven by mechanical coupling
Abdul Malmi-Kakkada – Augusta University USA
Plasma membrane folds form boundaries between cortical domains of the early Drosophila embryo
Rowan Naidoo – University of Toronto Canada
Mar. 21
The cofilin regulator LIMK controls embryonic wound repair
Ana Maria do Carmo – University of Toronto Canada
Intercalation dynamics driving endoderm morphogenesis during mouse gastrulation
Alexandre Francou – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center USA
Apr. 4
Regulation of the mitotic endoplasmic reticulum's structure and dynamics and its contribution to division success
Katie Rollins – University of Denver USA
Tissue-tissue interactions and epithelial remodelling drive the expansion of the zebrafish nostril
Clara Gordillo Pi – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center USA
Apr. 18
Folding a brain: a lateral tension model for mouse neural tube closure
Juana De La O – Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
Cell remodelling and cytoskeleton dynamics during lateral root formation
Alexis Maizel – University of Heidelberg Germany
Fall 2023
Sep. 28
Can cells walk & chew gum at the same time? A new study on cell shape and cell neighbor exchange during organ building
Claudia Vasquez – University of Washington USA
Two-phase kinetics and cell cortex elastic behavior in Xenopus gastrula cell-cell adhesion
Serge Parent – University of Toronto Canada
Oct. 12
Epithelial convergent extension by controlled transformation of internal force-balance geometry
Fridtjof Brauns – UC Santa Barbara USA
An active solid model of epithelial convergent extension
Nikolas Claussen – UC Santa Barbara USA
Oct. 26
Mechanical remodelling of cardiac extracellular matrix pre-patterns trabecular morphogenesis
Christopher Chan Jin Jie – The Francis Crick Institute UK
Mechanical stress combines with planar polarised patterning during metaphase to orient embryonic epithelial cell divisions
Guy Blanchard – University of Cambridge UK
Nov. 9
Cell shape changes and progressive endocycle during epithelial tube formation
Seyeon Chung – Louisiana State University USA
Multiciliated cells use filopodia to probe tissue mechanics during epithelial integration in vivo
Jakub Sedzinksi – University of Copenhagen Denmark
Dec. 7
3D mesoscale organization of chromatin in muscles
Talila Volk – Weizmann Institute of Science Israel
Non-Linear mechanical response determines cell shapes in Drosophila gastrulation
Julio Belmonte – North Carolina State University USA
Jan. 19
Basal bodies: ascent, distribution and patterning
Raghavan Thiagarajan – University of Copenhagen Denmark
Rap1 coordinates cell adhesion and cytoskeletal rearrangements to drive rapid wound closure
Katy Rothenberg – University of Toronto Canada
Feb. 2
Quantifying whole embryo morphogenesis and its reproducibility at the single cell scale
Leo Guignard – CENTURI Marseille France
Evolutionary diversification reveals novel biological functions for cytoskeletal proteins
Courtney Schroeder – UT Southwestern USA
Feb. 16
Inverse blebs in blastocoel formation
Markus Schliffka – Institut Curie France
Development drives changes in myosin II patterning and tight junction morphology in Xenopus
Rachel Stephenson – University of Michigan USA
Mar. 16
The zebrafish trunk neural crest as an in vivo model of collective migration in confined environments
Elena Scarpa – University of Cambridge UK
Nuclei as mechanical bumpers during epithelial remodeling
Noah De Leeuw – University of Denver USA
Mar. 30
Branched actin tunes cortical architecture and contractility during mouse oocyte maturation
Elvira Nikalayevich – Collège de France France
The role of the yolk cell cytoskeleton and Camsap2 during zebrafish morphogenesis
Ashley Bruce – University of Toronto Canada
Apr. 13
Mechanosensitive recruitment of vinculin maintains junction integrity and barrier function at tricellular junctions in vertebrate epithelia
Lotte Van den Goor – University of Michigan USA
Apr. 27
An in toto imaging study with sub-embryonic resolution: quantifying directional cell migration
Elham Gheisari – University of Kassel Germany