Our latest: We developed a chemo-optogenetic system for precise spatiotemporal control of morphogen production. Using dual light + small molecule control of Sonic Hedgehog production, we recapitulated neural tube patterning in vitro & measured spread of Shh
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Investigating morphogen and patterning dynamics with optogenetic control of morphogen production
Morphogen gradients provide the patterning cues that instruct cell fate decisions during development. Here, we establish an optogenetic system for the…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 26, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Our latest: We developed a chemo-optogenetic system for precise spatiotemporal control of morphogen production. Using dual light + small molecule control of Sonic Hedgehog production, we recapitulated neural tube patterning in vitro & measured spread of Shh
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Good to see the peer reviewed version of this published
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Investigating morphogen and patterning dynamics with optogenetic control of morphogen production
Benzinger et al. develop a chemo-optogenetic system for precise spatiotemporal control
of morphogen production in vitro. Using light-controlled Sonic hedgehog expression,
they recapitulate neural tube...
www.cell.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Good to see the peer reviewed version of this published
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
New work on dynamics of morphogen signaling:
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Rapid transcriptional response to a dynamic morphogen by time integration
During development, cells must interpret extracellular signals with speed and accuracy. While morphogen gradients pattern tissues, how cells respond to dynamic morphogens remains unclear. Here, we inv...
www.biorxiv.org
June 10, 2025 at 8:07 AM
New work on dynamics of morphogen signaling:
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neuron programming! Pro-neural TFs + 480 morphogen conditions + scRNA-seq --> Diverse iN subtypes of forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain, spinal cord, and PNS. @hsiuchuanlin.bsky.social @jasperjanssens.bsky.social and Treutlein Lab! @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #NGN2 #ASCL1
July 11, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Neuron programming! Pro-neural TFs + 480 morphogen conditions + scRNA-seq --> Diverse iN subtypes of forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain, spinal cord, and PNS. @hsiuchuanlin.bsky.social @jasperjanssens.bsky.social and Treutlein Lab! @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #NGN2 #ASCL1
Axolotl can regrow lost limbs, matching their body size. How? Our new theory-experiment paper in @pnas.org proposes how oppositely oriented morphogen gradients scaling with animal size promote proportional growth. Great collaboration with @tatianasg.bsky.social @cmcb-tud.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Axolotl can regrow lost limbs, matching their body size. How? Our new theory-experiment paper in @pnas.org proposes how oppositely oriented morphogen gradients scaling with animal size promote proportional growth. Great collaboration with @tatianasg.bsky.social @cmcb-tud.bsky.social
📣Check out our work led by @alex-plum.bsky.social ! We developed a mathematical framework for morphogen patterning in dynamic tissues, revealing key insights into how morphogenesis mediates cell-cell communication, morphogen compartmentalization and fate coordination. biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
January 24, 2025 at 5:16 PM
📣Check out our work led by @alex-plum.bsky.social ! We developed a mathematical framework for morphogen patterning in dynamic tissues, revealing key insights into how morphogenesis mediates cell-cell communication, morphogen compartmentalization and fate coordination. biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New paper from our lab and @friedrich-group.bsky.social !! Insights into morphogen gradient scaling to regenerate a limb at the appropriate size. #axolotl, #limbregeneration
Axolotl can regrow lost limbs, matching their body size. How? Our new theory-experiment paper in @pnas.org proposes how oppositely oriented morphogen gradients scaling with animal size promote proportional growth. Great collaboration with @tatianasg.bsky.social @cmcb-tud.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 1:19 PM
New paper from our lab and @friedrich-group.bsky.social !! Insights into morphogen gradient scaling to regenerate a limb at the appropriate size. #axolotl, #limbregeneration
My postdoc work at Treutlein lab and @graycamplab.bsky.social with @jasperjanssens.bsky.social is out in @science.org ! We screen for neuron subtypes using pro-neural TFs + morphogen combinations + scRNA-seq and profiled over 700,000 cells in 480 conditions. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
July 12, 2025 at 10:11 PM
My postdoc work at Treutlein lab and @graycamplab.bsky.social with @jasperjanssens.bsky.social is out in @science.org ! We screen for neuron subtypes using pro-neural TFs + morphogen combinations + scRNA-seq and profiled over 700,000 cells in 480 conditions. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🔔 Proud to share the preprint of my PhD work in the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org ✨
“A closed feedback between tissue phase transitions and morphogen gradients drives patterning dynamics” 🐟 🔁 📶
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#devbio #biophysics
🧵⤵️
“A closed feedback between tissue phase transitions and morphogen gradients drives patterning dynamics” 🐟 🔁 📶
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#devbio #biophysics
🧵⤵️
June 11, 2025 at 4:47 PM
🔔 Proud to share the preprint of my PhD work in the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org ✨
“A closed feedback between tissue phase transitions and morphogen gradients drives patterning dynamics” 🐟 🔁 📶
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#devbio #biophysics
🧵⤵️
“A closed feedback between tissue phase transitions and morphogen gradients drives patterning dynamics” 🐟 🔁 📶
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#devbio #biophysics
🧵⤵️
New preprint @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social by Harshath Amal and colleagues from our lab @uni-muenster.de shows how a BMP #morphogen gradient is translated into graded junctional permeability by tuning adhesion and actomyosin contractility in #Drosophila
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
February 18, 2026 at 8:43 AM
New preprint @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social by Harshath Amal and colleagues from our lab @uni-muenster.de shows how a BMP #morphogen gradient is translated into graded junctional permeability by tuning adhesion and actomyosin contractility in #Drosophila
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
I have a thread if you want to learn more about Turing patterns & morphogen fields during embryonic development.
There's not much I can say about Alan Turing's cryptography in WWII that Benadryl Cabbagepatch didn't already cover in "Imitation Game."
But did you know he explained how the tiger got its stripes, why hair parts on one side & why your heart tilts to the left?
Let's talk about Turing patterns.
But did you know he explained how the tiger got its stripes, why hair parts on one side & why your heart tilts to the left?
Let's talk about Turing patterns.
July 20, 2026 at 11:50 PM
I have a thread if you want to learn more about Turing patterns & morphogen fields during embryonic development.
Your new batch of cortical organoids resulted in mixed regional identities closer to hindbrain. Why is patterning so hard?😩
✨Our latest paper might help you✨
tinyurl.com/neorgpat
#morphogen #neuralorganoids #patterning #scRNAseq
@graycamplab.bsky.social @ethz.ch @nazbukina.bsky.social
✨Our latest paper might help you✨
tinyurl.com/neorgpat
#morphogen #neuralorganoids #patterning #scRNAseq
@graycamplab.bsky.social @ethz.ch @nazbukina.bsky.social
December 19, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Your new batch of cortical organoids resulted in mixed regional identities closer to hindbrain. Why is patterning so hard?😩
✨Our latest paper might help you✨
tinyurl.com/neorgpat
#morphogen #neuralorganoids #patterning #scRNAseq
@graycamplab.bsky.social @ethz.ch @nazbukina.bsky.social
✨Our latest paper might help you✨
tinyurl.com/neorgpat
#morphogen #neuralorganoids #patterning #scRNAseq
@graycamplab.bsky.social @ethz.ch @nazbukina.bsky.social
A fun collaboration with @nazbukina.bsky.social @zhisonghe.bsky.social at @Treutleinlab @graycamplab.bsky.social for our posterior brain organoid atlas and morphogen screens!
Excited to share our latest preprint, presenting a multi-omic human neural organoid cell atlas of the posterior brain! 🧠🔬
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Great work with @hsiuchuanlin.bsky.social @zhisonghe.bsky.social @graycamplab.bsky.social and Barbara Treutlein!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Great work with @hsiuchuanlin.bsky.social @zhisonghe.bsky.social @graycamplab.bsky.social and Barbara Treutlein!
March 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
A fun collaboration with @nazbukina.bsky.social @zhisonghe.bsky.social at @Treutleinlab @graycamplab.bsky.social for our posterior brain organoid atlas and morphogen screens!
How can cells use information from neighboring cells to improve the spatial precision of morphogen patterns? 🤔
We show that cells can gain positional information by "talking" to their neighbors - how much depends critically on spatial correlations of the patterns.
buff.ly/w56OUJT
We show that cells can gain positional information by "talking" to their neighbors - how much depends critically on spatial correlations of the patterns.
buff.ly/w56OUJT
January 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM
How can cells use information from neighboring cells to improve the spatial precision of morphogen patterns? 🤔
We show that cells can gain positional information by "talking" to their neighbors - how much depends critically on spatial correlations of the patterns.
buff.ly/w56OUJT
We show that cells can gain positional information by "talking" to their neighbors - how much depends critically on spatial correlations of the patterns.
buff.ly/w56OUJT
My PhD work is out in Science Advances! We show how DPP drives tissue morphogenesis by encoding local mechanical programs iteratively, unraveling a self-organizing mechanism linking morphogen gradients to tissue dynamics.
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
#DevBio #Morphogenesis #Drosophila
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
#DevBio #Morphogenesis #Drosophila
Automorphy as a self-organizing DPP-dependent process that translates patterns into mechanical programs during Drosophila embryogenesis
Automorphy gets the morph into the morphogen.
www.science.org
June 28, 2025 at 1:48 PM
My PhD work is out in Science Advances! We show how DPP drives tissue morphogenesis by encoding local mechanical programs iteratively, unraveling a self-organizing mechanism linking morphogen gradients to tissue dynamics.
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
#DevBio #Morphogenesis #Drosophila
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
#DevBio #Morphogenesis #Drosophila
Happy to share that my PhD work got published in the special issue dedicated to the 100-year anniversary of the Spemann-Mangold Organiser:
Tissue mechanics modulate morphogen signalling to induce the head organiser
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...
With @mayorlab.bsky.social and Guillaume Charras
1/n
Tissue mechanics modulate morphogen signalling to induce the head organiser
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...
With @mayorlab.bsky.social and Guillaume Charras
1/n
Redirecting
doi.org
December 6, 2024 at 11:13 AM
Happy to share that my PhD work got published in the special issue dedicated to the 100-year anniversary of the Spemann-Mangold Organiser:
Tissue mechanics modulate morphogen signalling to induce the head organiser
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...
With @mayorlab.bsky.social and Guillaume Charras
1/n
Tissue mechanics modulate morphogen signalling to induce the head organiser
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...
With @mayorlab.bsky.social and Guillaume Charras
1/n
🎉Paper alert! How do #axolotls regrow their limbs to match their body size? A new publication by PoL @friedrich-group.bsky.social along with @tatianasg.bsky.social @crtd-tud.bsky.social shows that opposing morphogen gradients scaling with animal size are key.
Curious? Read our news: tud.link/z6tj5y
Curious? Read our news: tud.link/z6tj5y
Morphogen Math: A Model of Axolotl Limb Growth during Regeneration
In a new publication led by the Friedrich group at PoL and the Sandoval-Guzmán group at CRTD, scientists propose a model of morphogen scaling during limb regeneration in axolotls.
tud.link
November 26, 2025 at 10:18 AM
🎉Paper alert! How do #axolotls regrow their limbs to match their body size? A new publication by PoL @friedrich-group.bsky.social along with @tatianasg.bsky.social @crtd-tud.bsky.social shows that opposing morphogen gradients scaling with animal size are key.
Curious? Read our news: tud.link/z6tj5y
Curious? Read our news: tud.link/z6tj5y
🧰 New tool alert! ⚙️
#MorphoGrad, an open-source toolbox for simulating reaction–diffusion systems in 1D and 2D tissues, with cell-to-cell parameter heterogeneity & graphical user interface.
No heavy coding required. Explore complex morphogen gradient models interactively.
doi.org/10.1016/j.xp...
#MorphoGrad, an open-source toolbox for simulating reaction–diffusion systems in 1D and 2D tissues, with cell-to-cell parameter heterogeneity & graphical user interface.
No heavy coding required. Explore complex morphogen gradient models interactively.
doi.org/10.1016/j.xp...
MorphoGrad: A MATLAB toolbox for simulating steady-state morphogen gradients under cell-to-cell variability
Studying morphogen gradient-based tissue patterning in silico while accounting for
biological variability remains challenging. Here, we present a MATLAB-based protocol
for simulating steady-state morp...
www.cell.com
June 8, 2026 at 8:48 AM
🧰 New tool alert! ⚙️
#MorphoGrad, an open-source toolbox for simulating reaction–diffusion systems in 1D and 2D tissues, with cell-to-cell parameter heterogeneity & graphical user interface.
No heavy coding required. Explore complex morphogen gradient models interactively.
doi.org/10.1016/j.xp...
#MorphoGrad, an open-source toolbox for simulating reaction–diffusion systems in 1D and 2D tissues, with cell-to-cell parameter heterogeneity & graphical user interface.
No heavy coding required. Explore complex morphogen gradient models interactively.
doi.org/10.1016/j.xp...
Undergoing recreational metamorphosis from the endorphin and dopamine rush that comes with setting up novel morphogen gradients
September 27, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Undergoing recreational metamorphosis from the endorphin and dopamine rush that comes with setting up novel morphogen gradients
Using light to sculpt vertebrate development! OptoNodal2 converts patterns of illumination into patterns of morphogen signaling.
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
May 2, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Using light to sculpt vertebrate development! OptoNodal2 converts patterns of illumination into patterns of morphogen signaling.
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Our paper "Morphogen gradients can convey position and time in growing tissues" is now out in Newton @cp-newton.bsky.social
Quite fitting to see this novel idea that morphogen gradients not only encode position, but can also time & synchronise development over long distances out in a new journal.
Quite fitting to see this novel idea that morphogen gradients not only encode position, but can also time & synchronise development over long distances out in a new journal.
August 25, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Our paper "Morphogen gradients can convey position and time in growing tissues" is now out in Newton @cp-newton.bsky.social
Quite fitting to see this novel idea that morphogen gradients not only encode position, but can also time & synchronise development over long distances out in a new journal.
Quite fitting to see this novel idea that morphogen gradients not only encode position, but can also time & synchronise development over long distances out in a new journal.
Extremely cool system for in vitro culture!
Synthetic organizer cells, engineered to spatially self-assemble around stem cells, can be used to create specific
morphogen gradients and systematically guide in vitro development
Congrats to everyone involved!
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Synthetic organizer cells, engineered to spatially self-assemble around stem cells, can be used to create specific
morphogen gradients and systematically guide in vitro development
Congrats to everyone involved!
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Synthetic organizer cells guide development via spatial and biochemical instructions
Synthetic organizer cells, engineered to spatially self-assemble around stem cells, can be used to create specific morphogen gradients and systematically guide in vitro development.
www.cell.com
December 19, 2024 at 8:01 PM
Extremely cool system for in vitro culture!
Synthetic organizer cells, engineered to spatially self-assemble around stem cells, can be used to create specific
morphogen gradients and systematically guide in vitro development
Congrats to everyone involved!
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Synthetic organizer cells, engineered to spatially self-assemble around stem cells, can be used to create specific
morphogen gradients and systematically guide in vitro development
Congrats to everyone involved!
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Finally had a chance to read this beautiful paper from Susan Mackem's lab. It's interesting that even well-established paradigms, like Sonic Hedgehog's role as a traditional morphogen in limb development, can be proven wrong over time.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Sonic hedgehog is not a limb morphogen but acts as a trigger to specify all digits in mice
Limb patterning by Sonic hedgehog (Shh), via either graded spatial or temporal signal integration, is a paradigm for “morphogen” function, yet how Shh…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Finally had a chance to read this beautiful paper from Susan Mackem's lab. It's interesting that even well-established paradigms, like Sonic Hedgehog's role as a traditional morphogen in limb development, can be proven wrong over time.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🚨 Join us tomorrow for this really exciting talk on the interplay between morphogen signalling and tissue organization! 🚨
🚨Next week, Wed 09/07 | 16:00 UK - Online Seminar🚨
"Feedback between morphogen signalling and tissue architecture drives robust developmental patterning" by Dr Zena Hadjivasiliou.
To attend online please register to our 📧 for the zoom link: lists.cam.ac.uk/sympa/subscr...
"Feedback between morphogen signalling and tissue architecture drives robust developmental patterning" by Dr Zena Hadjivasiliou.
To attend online please register to our 📧 for the zoom link: lists.cam.ac.uk/sympa/subscr...
July 8, 2025 at 8:59 AM
🚨 Join us tomorrow for this really exciting talk on the interplay between morphogen signalling and tissue organization! 🚨
Great to see this published: Fitting dynamical landscape models to single-cell data, creating interpretable maps of cell decision making & developmental logic
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reconstructing Waddington’s landscape from data | PNAS
The development of a zygote into a functional organism requires that this single progenitor
cell gives rise to numerous distinct cell types. Attemp...
www.pnas.org
December 4, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Great to see this published: Fitting dynamical landscape models to single-cell data, creating interpretable maps of cell decision making & developmental logic
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...