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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

🎓Congratulations to Gaurav Vaidya from the Vu @hanhtkvu.bsky.social and Dorrity @mwdorr.bsky.social groups @embl.org who has successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Cellular drivers of reproductive plasticity uncovered by life-cycle trajectory inference” 🥳 #planarians #plasticity #lifecycle

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

✨ At this week DB unit seminar @embl.org, Thomas Beavis, a PhD student in the Vincent group @floravincent.bsky.social presented his work on phytoplankton symbiosis #diatoms #symbyosis #marinebiology #DevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Huge thanks to Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo for opening our Developmental Biology series 26/27 @embl.org. Iñaki showed us how studying our closest unicellular relatives is reshaping what we know about animal origins and why exploring the unknown is key to any field. We couldn't have asked for a better start! 🦠

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

🎓Congratulations to Laura Rustarazo-Calvo @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social from the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social who has successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Uncoupling adhesion- and density-driven rigidity transitions triggers epithelial organisation in embryonic tissues”

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

✨ At the last DB unit unit seminar @embl.org, Jaroslav Ferenc @jarofrnc.bsky.social a postdoc in the Ikmi group @aikmi.bsky.social, showed how tissue-specific metabolic preferences drive developmental decisions #devbio #nematostella #devmetabolism

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

🎓 Congratulations to Kristina Mirkes from the Vu group @hanhtkvu.bsky.social @embl.org who has successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Regulatory mechanisms of size-dependent growth dynamics in Schmidtea mediterranea” #DevelopmentalBiology #Planarian #PhDDefense #newdoctor

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

✨At this week's DB unit seminar @embl.org, Serena Flori @serenaflori.bsky.social, a postdoc in the Vincent group @floravincent.bsky.social, presented her work on the structural basis of diatom responses to marine heatwaves. You can also check out her paper here: www.cell.com/current-biol...

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

✨ This week, Nikki Cannon, a PhD student in the van Gestel group @jordivangestel.bsky.social, presented her work on creating an end-to-end assembly and annotation pipeline for Dictyostelids at the DB unit seminar @embl.org

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

✨ At this week's DB Unit Seminar @embl.org , Levin Riedel, a phD student in the Ikmi group @aikmi.bsky.social, presented his work on the effects of neuropeptides on morphogenesis and development of Nematostella vectensis larvae and polyps.

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

✨ At this week's DB seminar @embl.org, Jlenia Vitale, a postdoc in the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social, presented her work on the interplay between cell-cell adhesion and mitochondrial activity during tissue phase transitions in Zebrafish and killifish embryos 🐟🔬#DevelopmentalBiology

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

✨ At last week's DB Unit Seminar @embl.org, Camilla Autorino @cami-autorino.bsky.social, a postdoc in the Petridou Group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social, presented her work on how tissue rigidity phase transition shapes morphogen gradients in zebrafish embryos 🐟🔬

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

✨ At this week's DB seminar @embl.org, Laura Sanchis Pla, a PhD student in the van Gestel group, presented her research on the defense strategies of bacteria in response to protistan predation. She explored the diverse life-history decisions that bacteria make to survive in natural environments.

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

✨In the DB unit seminar this week, Amrutha Palavalli, a postdoc in the Vu @hanhtkvu.bsky.social group @embl.org, presented a new approach to studying the life history evolution and identifying the trade-offs of the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea #planarians #sciRNAseq

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

✨At this week's DB seminar @embl.org , Alvin Han, a postdoc in the Arendt group, presented his work on the variation of microbiome and symbioses of Platynereis species across European coastlines 🪱 #TREC #microbiome

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

✨This week at the DB unit seminar @embl.org, Paco Majic Bergara @hhydrochaerus.bsky.social, a Crocker group postdoc, presented his project on how developmental noise across different scales, from genotype to phenotype, has the potential to affect evolutionary trajectories.

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

✨ At this week's DB seminar, Silvia Zanna, a PhD student from the Ikmi group @aikmi.bsky.social @embl.org , presented her work on the characterisation and function of migratory cells in Nematostella vectensis #cnidarian #develepmentalbiology #migration

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

✨ This week’s DB unit seminar @embl.org featured Shuchang (Jim) Hu, a PhD student in the Vu @hanhtkvu.bsky.social and the Dorrity groups @mwdorr.bsky.social, who shared fascinating findings on Phagocata velata, a flatworm that uses two different regeneration strategies depending on the context

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

✨At this week's DB seminar, Cyril Cros, a postdoc in the Arendt group @embl.org, presented his work on integrating single-cell and electron microscopy datasets of a marine worm. This approach combines molecular and structural data to provide new insights into cellular organization and function 🪱

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

✨ At this week's DB seminar, Magdalena Schindler @lena-schindler.bsky.social, a postdoc in the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org, presented her work on how cell cycle synchrony affects tissue-level mechanical transitions at the onset of morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos 🐟 🔬

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

✨We kicked off 2026 with a great seminar by Sapna Chhabra, postdoctoral fellow in the Aulehla group at the DB unit @embl.org. Sapna shared her research on how medaka fish embryos robustly segment their body axis in the presence of temperature changes 🐟 🔬 #DevelopmentalBiology #TemperatureRegulation

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

What a year it's been at the DB unit @embl.org! 2025 brought us hard work, exciting discoveries, and numerous initiatives that advanced our science. As we wrap up this year, we want to wish everyone a restful and joyful winter break. We'll be back in 2026, ready for new challenges. See you then! 🎉

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

🎓 Congratulations to Victoria Witte from the Arendt group @embl.org who has defended her PhD thesis titled “A single cell transcriptomics investigation of the adult Platynereis dumerilii mushroom bodies” #DevelopmentalBiology

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

🎓Congratulations to Adriaan Meiborg @ymeiborg.bsky.social, from the Vu group @hanhtkvu.bsky.social @embl.org who has defended his PhD thesis titled “A single-cell view of Schmidtea mediterranea growth dynamics” #DevelopmentalBiology

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

✨ This week's DB seminar was presented by Sosuke Fujita a postdoc in the Ikmi group @aikmi.bsky.social @embl.org. His research focuses on the role of neuropeptide signaling in development and regeneration using Nematostella as a model organism #devbio #regeneration #cnidarians

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

✨This week at the DB Unit Seminar @embl.org, Gabriel Gastelum Urbina @gabyga16.bsky.social, a postdoc in the van Gestel Group @jordivangestel.bsky.social, presented her work on how predation shapes microbial community dynamics in soil #predation #microbialecology #microbialdynamics

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

In this week's DB unit seminar @embl.org, Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social , a postdoc in the Arendt, Diz-Muñoz @diz-lab.bsky.social and Brunet groups @thibautbrunet.bsky.social , shared insights on the role of cell surface mechanics in multicellularity, using choanoflagellates as a model organism

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

✨This week at the DB unit seminar @embl.org, Noa Ottilie Borst, a PhD student in the Crocker group @justinmcrocker.bsky.social presented her work on cell-type-specific interallelic interactions, and how they simultaneously allow for robustness and evolutionary innovation.

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

✨ In this week's DB unit seminar @embl.org, Hidenobu Miyazawa, a postdoc in the Aulehla group, shared insights on the role of glycolysis in mouse embryo axis segmentation #DevelopmentalBiology #Glycolysis #MouseEmbryos

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

✨Thomas Beavis, a PhD student in the Vincent group @floravincent.bsky.social @embl.org , was our speaker at this week's DB seminar. He discussed his research on how diatom-ciliate symbiosis affects cell fate and function #symbiosis #marinebiology #protists

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Soraya Zwahlen, a PhD student in the Vincent @floravincent.bsky.social group @embl.org, was our speaker at the DB seminar this week. She discussed a cell-ecosystem approach to studying marine microbial interactions under pollutant stress. #MarineMicrobiology #MicrobialInteractions

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Welcome on board, Corentin Bisot! Corentin is a new postdoc in the van Gestel group @jordivangestel.bsky.social in the DB unit @embl.org. He will study the link between multicellularity and the physical constraints of migration in soils.

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

✨Luc Lederer, a PhD student in the Aulehla group, spoke at the DB seminar @embl.org this week. He investigates whether phase waves during somitogenesis contain functional information for tissue patterning, as well as how we can manipulate and understand the mechanisms behind them #DevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

The DB unit also celebrated Anne Ephrussi at this wonderful symposium! Anne was our unit head from 2007-2021. Congratulations on a remarkable career, Anne! 🎉

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

✨ Back from summer break with 2 great DB seminars @embl.org! Andrew Hogan (van Gestel group) on protist predation defences & Simon Knoblich (Aulehla group) on calcium waves in Medaka gastrulation. Exciting research happening in the DB unit 🔥 #DevelopmentalBiology

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

It's been a busy month at the DB unit at EMBL #PhDdefence Simona Gioe', from the Aulehla group, successfully defended her PhD thesis, which was titled 'Investigating the functional role of oscillatory signalling via experimental entrainment of the somite segmentation clock'. Congrats, Simona 🥳🎓

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

✨Andrea Zanon, a PhD student in the van Gestel group @jordivangestel.bsky.social, was our speaker at the DB seminar this week @embl.org. He talked about his project, which involves developing a synthetic soil assay to study the aggregative life cycle of Dictyostelium discoideum #lifecycle #amoeba

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

🎓Congratulations to Camilla Autorino, from the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org who has just defended her PhD thesis titled 'A closed feedback between tissue phase transitions and morphogen gradients drives patterning dynamics in the zebrafish embryo' #DevelopmentalBiology

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

✨ In this week's DB unit seminar, Michael Zhao, a postdoc in the Aulhela group, shared insights on how he uses a combination of experimental data and theoretical models to study patterning and collective behaviour in the presomitic mesoderm #Patterning #CollectiveBehavior #Mesoderm

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Magdalena Schindler, from the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org, who has just defended her PhD thesis titled 'An optimum cell cycle heterogeneity times tissue fluidisation at the onset of zebrafish morphogenesis' #PhDDefense #Zebrafish #DevelopmentalBiology

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

✨At our seminar this week, Luca Santangeli, a scientific officer in the Arendt group @embl.org, presented a new imaging and computational pipeline for investigating the evolution of cell types in the Platynereis Cell Atlas.

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

We cannot believe the DB unit summer school "Transitions in developing systems: from theory to experiments" has already come to an end. A huge thank you to all the organisers, speakers, and trainers for making it such an exciting and inspiring course #EMBLDevBio @dev-journal.bsky.social

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Time for a new practical at the DB unit summer school @embl.org ! This session features the sea anemone Nematostella and explores the larva-to-polyp transition driven by neuropeptide signaling. Thanks to the Ikmi group @aikmi.bsky.social 🤩 #EMBLDevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Day 6 of the DB Unit Summer School at EMBL started with an insightful lecture by Caren Norden @nordenlab.bsky.social on the impact of nuclear properties on the behaviour of Zebrafish retinal neuroepithelia. #EMBLDevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

It's Planarian Time at the DB Unit Summer School! Today's practical is being led by the Vu group @hanhtkvu.bsky.social and focuses on size-dependent physiological changes throughout the life cycle of planarian flatworms #EMBLDevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

There's always more to learn at the DB unit Summer School @embl.org ! After two engaging practical sessions yesterday from the Aulehla and Petridou groups @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social , today we will be diving into data analysis #EMBLDevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Day 3 of the DB summer school "Transitions in developing systems: from theory to experiments" started with a fantastic talk by Guillaume Salbreux, from the University of Geneva, who discussed transitions in populations of coupled phase oscillators #EMBLDevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Day 2 of the DB Unit Summer School has now finished. We had fantastic talks from Iain Cousin #collectivebehaviour and Karen Alim #physicsofbehaviour, along with an exciting practical session from the van Gestel group on aggregative development in wild-type slime mold species #EMBLdevbio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

At the DB Unit Summer School, it's already time for Practical 1! Participants are exploring the theory of phase transitions, critical points, and bifurcations with James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social and Isabella Graf @isabellagraf.bsky.social and her group members @lwuerthner.bsky.social

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

The DB Unit Summer School, "Transitions in Developing Systems," kicked off with an incredible talk by Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social from the Pasteur Institute @pasteur.fr on the fascinating transition from unicellularity to multicellularity in choanoflagellates #EMBLDevBio

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EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Day 1 of the DB Unit Summer School: 'Transitions in Developing Systems: From Theory to Experiments'. We are delighted to welcome all participants! Stay tuned for updates. @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @hanhtkvu.bsky.social @jordivangestel.bsky.social @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social @karenalim.bsky.social

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