samlacey.bsky.social
@samlacey.bsky.social
Postdoc in Pigino lab at Human Technopole
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
New preprint! In collaboration with @xujwet.bsky.social, @pedrobeltrao.bsky.social, and Akhmanova and Beekman groups, we determined the structure of the transition zone microtubule doublet in mammalian motile cilia, providing potential insights into the regulation of IFT: tinyurl.com/fssnevuc
Structure of the mammalian ciliary transition zone microtubule doublet
The ciliary transition zone gates bidirectional protein trafficking to maintain the specialized ciliary proteome using microtubule doublets as a scaffold. While ciliary axonemal doublets are well-char...
tinyurl.com
June 14, 2026 at 5:32 AM
New preprint! In collaboration with @xujwet.bsky.social, @pedrobeltrao.bsky.social, and Akhmanova and Beekman groups, we determined the structure of the transition zone microtubule doublet in mammalian motile cilia, providing potential insights into the regulation of IFT: tinyurl.com/fssnevuc
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
There are lots of exciting opportunities to join the in situ structural biology community at Leeds this Autumn - 2 studentships in the Cheney PhD program (astbury.leeds.ac.uk/cheney-phd/) and I am recruiting a PhD student and research assistant. Please share and send any future tomographers our way!
Cheney Scholarship PhD Programme : The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology - "Understanding Life in Molecular Detail"
Applications are open for 2 PhD student places. Closing date for applications is Thursday 26 June, 5pm. Interviews will be held on 9th July 2026. The Cheney Scholarship is a prestigious 4-year PhD pr...
astbury.leeds.ac.uk
June 11, 2026 at 2:27 PM
There are lots of exciting opportunities to join the in situ structural biology community at Leeds this Autumn - 2 studentships in the Cheney PhD program (astbury.leeds.ac.uk/cheney-phd/) and I am recruiting a PhD student and research assistant. Please share and send any future tomographers our way!
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
I am delighted to be among this years winners awards from the Biochemical Society! The Early Career Award recognises the work I did during my PhD and postdoc, and hopefully signals a bright start for my new lab within the @astbury-bsl.bsky.social at the University of Leeds 💫
We are so proud of all our Biochemical Society 2027 Award winners. Visit our website to find out more about all of the deserving recipients #BiochemAwards 🧪
https://ow.ly/mZ6O50YIGo8
https://ow.ly/mZ6O50YIGo8
April 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM
I am delighted to be among this years winners awards from the Biochemical Society! The Early Career Award recognises the work I did during my PhD and postdoc, and hopefully signals a bright start for my new lab within the @astbury-bsl.bsky.social at the University of Leeds 💫
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Utilising in situ structural biology to uncover fundamental mechanisms of cytoskeletal regulation, we're excited to present Helen Foster with an Early Career Research Award in 2027! Helen's research on immune cell cytoskeletal remodeling could open new frontiers in molecular immunology.
April 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Utilising in situ structural biology to uncover fundamental mechanisms of cytoskeletal regulation, we're excited to present Helen Foster with an Early Career Research Award in 2027! Helen's research on immune cell cytoskeletal remodeling could open new frontiers in molecular immunology.
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Happy to share our latest work spearheaded by super talented PhD student Muyang Ren now out as a bioRxiv preprint.
'Motile ciliophagy promotes ciliary recycling under stress'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
'Motile ciliophagy promotes ciliary recycling under stress'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
April 7, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Happy to share our latest work spearheaded by super talented PhD student Muyang Ren now out as a bioRxiv preprint.
'Motile ciliophagy promotes ciliary recycling under stress'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
'Motile ciliophagy promotes ciliary recycling under stress'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Check out our first lab preprint: A real team effort to understand the Plasmodium GAPM proteins, which form part of a essential bridge between the parasite's cytoskeleton and motility apparatus. Below is a sneak peek of some beautiful microscopy - light and electron! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
March 30, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Check out our first lab preprint: A real team effort to understand the Plasmodium GAPM proteins, which form part of a essential bridge between the parasite's cytoskeleton and motility apparatus. Below is a sneak peek of some beautiful microscopy - light and electron! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
🚨 Preprint alert!
We solved the structure of human NSUN2 bound to Asp tRNA, revealing how it installs m⁵C and recognizes RNAs
#CryoEM #RNABiology
A collab between Casañal & Gullerova labs, with @miclass.bsky.social and me working side by side as co-first authors
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
(0/7🧵)
We solved the structure of human NSUN2 bound to Asp tRNA, revealing how it installs m⁵C and recognizes RNAs
#CryoEM #RNABiology
A collab between Casañal & Gullerova labs, with @miclass.bsky.social and me working side by side as co-first authors
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
(0/7🧵)
March 19, 2026 at 11:50 AM
🚨 Preprint alert!
We solved the structure of human NSUN2 bound to Asp tRNA, revealing how it installs m⁵C and recognizes RNAs
#CryoEM #RNABiology
A collab between Casañal & Gullerova labs, with @miclass.bsky.social and me working side by side as co-first authors
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
(0/7🧵)
We solved the structure of human NSUN2 bound to Asp tRNA, revealing how it installs m⁵C and recognizes RNAs
#CryoEM #RNABiology
A collab between Casañal & Gullerova labs, with @miclass.bsky.social and me working side by side as co-first authors
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
(0/7🧵)
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
📢 First preprint from the Casañal Lab!
Excited to share our work on human NSUN2, done together with the brilliant @ecleroy.bsky.social.
Using #CryoEM, we capture the dramatic structural rearrangement of tRNA as it flips a cytidine into the NSUN2 catalytic pocket for m⁵C modification.
Take a look👇
Excited to share our work on human NSUN2, done together with the brilliant @ecleroy.bsky.social.
Using #CryoEM, we capture the dramatic structural rearrangement of tRNA as it flips a cytidine into the NSUN2 catalytic pocket for m⁵C modification.
Take a look👇
🚨 Preprint alert!
We solved the structure of human NSUN2 bound to Asp tRNA, revealing how it installs m⁵C and recognizes RNAs
#CryoEM #RNABiology
A collab between Casañal & Gullerova labs, with @miclass.bsky.social and me working side by side as co-first authors
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
(0/7🧵)
We solved the structure of human NSUN2 bound to Asp tRNA, revealing how it installs m⁵C and recognizes RNAs
#CryoEM #RNABiology
A collab between Casañal & Gullerova labs, with @miclass.bsky.social and me working side by side as co-first authors
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
(0/7🧵)
March 19, 2026 at 12:18 PM
📢 First preprint from the Casañal Lab!
Excited to share our work on human NSUN2, done together with the brilliant @ecleroy.bsky.social.
Using #CryoEM, we capture the dramatic structural rearrangement of tRNA as it flips a cytidine into the NSUN2 catalytic pocket for m⁵C modification.
Take a look👇
Excited to share our work on human NSUN2, done together with the brilliant @ecleroy.bsky.social.
Using #CryoEM, we capture the dramatic structural rearrangement of tRNA as it flips a cytidine into the NSUN2 catalytic pocket for m⁵C modification.
Take a look👇
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Proud and excited to share our work with the community! Helen @helenfoster.bsky.social Foster et al. study how #cilia axonemes are built. 👀 Don't miss the gorgeous and insightful movies by @margotriggi.bsky.social, they really show our discoveries in full action!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 9, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Proud and excited to share our work with the community! Helen @helenfoster.bsky.social Foster et al. study how #cilia axonemes are built. 👀 Don't miss the gorgeous and insightful movies by @margotriggi.bsky.social, they really show our discoveries in full action!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Incredible new work on ciliary axoneme assembly spearheaded by @helenfoster.bsky.social (#NewPI) from the @gaiapigino.bsky.social. Like all good science, answers many questions & opens up many new ones!
Kudos to the entire team for this important advance in cilia biology. Lovely animation!
Kudos to the entire team for this important advance in cilia biology. Lovely animation!
There was so much to unpack with this data, we teamed up with the marvellous @margotriggi.bsky.social to help explain what we think is going on. (Please also check out our model of central apparatus assembly here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...)
February 7, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Incredible new work on ciliary axoneme assembly spearheaded by @helenfoster.bsky.social (#NewPI) from the @gaiapigino.bsky.social. Like all good science, answers many questions & opens up many new ones!
Kudos to the entire team for this important advance in cilia biology. Lovely animation!
Kudos to the entire team for this important advance in cilia biology. Lovely animation!
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
There was so much to unpack with this data, we teamed up with the marvellous @margotriggi.bsky.social to help explain what we think is going on. (Please also check out our model of central apparatus assembly here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...)
February 6, 2026 at 11:20 AM
There was so much to unpack with this data, we teamed up with the marvellous @margotriggi.bsky.social to help explain what we think is going on. (Please also check out our model of central apparatus assembly here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...)
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Very happy to say that our work on how axonemes are generated is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... - if you’ve ever wondered how the incredibly beautiful, complex structures within motile #cilia are constructed then this is for you!
www.biorxiv.org
February 6, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Very happy to say that our work on how axonemes are generated is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... - if you’ve ever wondered how the incredibly beautiful, complex structures within motile #cilia are constructed then this is for you!
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
How do cells adapt morphology to function? In a 🔥 preprint by @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social , with @dudinlab.bsky.social and @amyweeks.bsky.social , we identify a self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit that optimizes the feeding trap structure of the suctorian P. collini. 🧵 tinyurl.com/4k8nv926
November 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
How do cells adapt morphology to function? In a 🔥 preprint by @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social , with @dudinlab.bsky.social and @amyweeks.bsky.social , we identify a self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit that optimizes the feeding trap structure of the suctorian P. collini. 🧵 tinyurl.com/4k8nv926
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Happy to share the inaugural paper from the lab. We describe a molecular mechanism for the activation of outer dynein arm motors that power the vital motion of cilia.
Open access link below:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's a cool animated summary
Open access link below:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's a cool animated summary
September 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Happy to share the inaugural paper from the lab. We describe a molecular mechanism for the activation of outer dynein arm motors that power the vital motion of cilia.
Open access link below:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's a cool animated summary
Open access link below:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's a cool animated summary
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
I am excited to share our new preprint on the CAGE complex, a mysterious hollow protein complex that I first saw years ago while surveying Tetrahymena ciliary lysate www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cilia #protistsonsky 🧬🧪
September 23, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I am excited to share our new preprint on the CAGE complex, a mysterious hollow protein complex that I first saw years ago while surveying Tetrahymena ciliary lysate www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cilia #protistsonsky 🧬🧪
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Excited to see this work published online at @cp-cell.bsky.social today!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
August 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Excited to see this work published online at @cp-cell.bsky.social today!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Thrilled to see our study on how kinesin-2 motors are switched on and off published in @natsmb.nature.com ⚛️
➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congrats to all authors from me and Anthony 🎉 @dunnschool.bsky.social Check out this animation made by talented PhD student @matthew-batisio.bsky.social 😆
➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congrats to all authors from me and Anthony 🎉 @dunnschool.bsky.social Check out this animation made by talented PhD student @matthew-batisio.bsky.social 😆
July 29, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Thrilled to see our study on how kinesin-2 motors are switched on and off published in @natsmb.nature.com ⚛️
➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congrats to all authors from me and Anthony 🎉 @dunnschool.bsky.social Check out this animation made by talented PhD student @matthew-batisio.bsky.social 😆
➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congrats to all authors from me and Anthony 🎉 @dunnschool.bsky.social Check out this animation made by talented PhD student @matthew-batisio.bsky.social 😆
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Condensin II activation by M18BP1: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Condensin II activation by M18BP1
Borsellini, Conti, Cutts, Harris, et al. identify an interaction between M18BP1 and
condensin II that is essential for condensin II activity and chromatin localization.
MCPH1 keeps the interphase geno...
www.cell.com
July 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Condensin II activation by M18BP1: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
🚨 We're Hiring! We're looking for a passionate and skilled EM Specialist to join our team! 📅 Application Deadline: July 9th, 2025 🔗 Learn more and apply here: careers.humantechnopole.it/o/electron-m...
Human Technopole - Electron Microscopy (EM) Specialist
APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: July 9th 2025About the InstituteHuman Technopole (HT) is an interdisciplinary life science research institute, created and supported by the Italian government, with the aim o
careers.humantechnopole.it
June 12, 2025 at 9:39 AM
🚨 We're Hiring! We're looking for a passionate and skilled EM Specialist to join our team! 📅 Application Deadline: July 9th, 2025 🔗 Learn more and apply here: careers.humantechnopole.it/o/electron-m...
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
How do cells keep their cilia “clean” and functional? Our new study uncovers a conserved mechanism for retrieving polyubiquitinated proteins from #cilia – a process essential for cellular signaling and health. #cellbiology #ciliopathy #ubiquitin #IFT 🧵👇 1/n
A conserved mechanism for the retrieval of polyubiquitinated proteins from cilia
The temporospatial distribution of proteins within cilia is regulated by intraflagellar transport (IFT), wherein molecular trains shuttle between the cell body and cilium. Defects in this process impair various signal-transduction pathways and cause ciliopathies. Although K63-linked ubiquitination appears to trigger protein export from cilia, the mechanisms coupling polyubiquitinated proteins to IFT remain unclear. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we demonstrate that a complex of CFAP36, a conserved ciliary protein of previously unknown function, and ARL3, a GTPase involved in ciliary import, binds polyubiquitinated proteins and links them to retrograde IFT trains. CFAP36 uses a coincidence detection mechanism to simultaneously bind two IFT subunits accessible only in retrograde trains. Depleting CFAP36 accumulates K63-linked ubiquitin in cilia and disrupts Hedgehog signaling, a pathway reliant on the retrieval of ubiquitinated receptors. These findings advance our understanding of ubiquitin-mediated protein transport and ciliary homeostasis, and demonstrate how structural changes in IFT trains achieve cargo selectivity. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Sara Elizabeth O'Brien Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded through the Charles A. King Trust Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, , 8460873-01 Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, https://ror.org/05j95n956, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), , R01GM141109, R01GM143183
www.biorxiv.org
April 29, 2025 at 3:04 PM
How do cells keep their cilia “clean” and functional? Our new study uncovers a conserved mechanism for retrieving polyubiquitinated proteins from #cilia – a process essential for cellular signaling and health. #cellbiology #ciliopathy #ubiquitin #IFT 🧵👇 1/n
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Great to see our story on dynein & kinesin co-dependence published www.nature.com/articles/s41..., and absolutely chuffed that it's made the front cover (thanks NSMB!). A brilliant News & Views too by Steven Markus www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Collab between @carter-lab.bsky.social & Straube lab🔬
April 24, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Great to see our story on dynein & kinesin co-dependence published www.nature.com/articles/s41..., and absolutely chuffed that it's made the front cover (thanks NSMB!). A brilliant News & Views too by Steven Markus www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Collab between @carter-lab.bsky.social & Straube lab🔬
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Excited to share our preprint on the molecular architecture of heterochromatin in human cells 🧬🔬w/ @jpkreysing.bsky.social, @johannesbetz.bsky.social,
@marinalusic.bsky.social, Turoňová lab, @hummerlab.bsky.social @becklab.bsky.social @mpibp.bsky.social
🔗 Preprint here tinyurl.com/3a74uanv
@marinalusic.bsky.social, Turoňová lab, @hummerlab.bsky.social @becklab.bsky.social @mpibp.bsky.social
🔗 Preprint here tinyurl.com/3a74uanv
April 11, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Excited to share our preprint on the molecular architecture of heterochromatin in human cells 🧬🔬w/ @jpkreysing.bsky.social, @johannesbetz.bsky.social,
@marinalusic.bsky.social, Turoňová lab, @hummerlab.bsky.social @becklab.bsky.social @mpibp.bsky.social
🔗 Preprint here tinyurl.com/3a74uanv
@marinalusic.bsky.social, Turoňová lab, @hummerlab.bsky.social @becklab.bsky.social @mpibp.bsky.social
🔗 Preprint here tinyurl.com/3a74uanv
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Asgard archaea have actin - but what about microtubules? Where do they come from? 🧐 Our new paper www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... by @xujwet.bsky.social & @florianwollweber.bsky.social, in collaboration with the Schleper & Wieczorek labs, describes tiny Asgard microtubules! #TeamTomo #ArchaeaSky 1/6
March 21, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Asgard archaea have actin - but what about microtubules? Where do they come from? 🧐 Our new paper www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... by @xujwet.bsky.social & @florianwollweber.bsky.social, in collaboration with the Schleper & Wieczorek labs, describes tiny Asgard microtubules! #TeamTomo #ArchaeaSky 1/6
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
Our MARCH Issue is now live! 🥳
Find the link to the full issue here:
🔗 go.nature.com/41gd09d
The cover is inspired by this great article on intraflagellar transport by @gaiapigino.bsky.social and @samlacey.bsky.social
👉 go.nature.com/41fEig5
#CellBio #cilia
Find the link to the full issue here:
🔗 go.nature.com/41gd09d
The cover is inspired by this great article on intraflagellar transport by @gaiapigino.bsky.social and @samlacey.bsky.social
👉 go.nature.com/41fEig5
#CellBio #cilia
February 25, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Our MARCH Issue is now live! 🥳
Find the link to the full issue here:
🔗 go.nature.com/41gd09d
The cover is inspired by this great article on intraflagellar transport by @gaiapigino.bsky.social and @samlacey.bsky.social
👉 go.nature.com/41fEig5
#CellBio #cilia
Find the link to the full issue here:
🔗 go.nature.com/41gd09d
The cover is inspired by this great article on intraflagellar transport by @gaiapigino.bsky.social and @samlacey.bsky.social
👉 go.nature.com/41fEig5
#CellBio #cilia
Reposted by samlacey.bsky.social
“Join the Pigino Lab! We’re hiring a PhD student to explore primary cilia biology using advanced imaging, spatial ‘omics, and AI. Apply now at www.cilia-ai.eu and be part of the Cilia-AI Doctoral Network!”
👀 Looking for a PhD position but you are torn between cilia biology and computational AI research? 😜
The Cilia-AI Doctoral Network has you covered! Lots of fantastic projects throughout Europe, also @humantechnopole.bsky.social with us or @gaiapigino.bsky.social - apply now! ‼️
www.cilia-ai.eu
The Cilia-AI Doctoral Network has you covered! Lots of fantastic projects throughout Europe, also @humantechnopole.bsky.social with us or @gaiapigino.bsky.social - apply now! ‼️
www.cilia-ai.eu
February 19, 2025 at 8:41 PM
“Join the Pigino Lab! We’re hiring a PhD student to explore primary cilia biology using advanced imaging, spatial ‘omics, and AI. Apply now at www.cilia-ai.eu and be part of the Cilia-AI Doctoral Network!”