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