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Alex Hughes Lab

@hugheslabpenn.bsky.social
326 followers 310 following 52 posts

Lab-run account @ Penn Bioengineering. Studying development and tissues using micro-scale engineering, chemical biology, and microscopy. alexhugheslab.com

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Reposted by Alex Hughes Lab
Jan Lammerding - Lab @lammerdinglab.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Looking for a faculty position combining research in fundamental cell and molecular biology with therapeutic discovery? Join our amazing faculty at the @weillinstitute.bsky.social at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32657 Apply by Nov. 15! Please share!
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Apply to join our department at @pennengineering.bsky.social - true academic freedom, great people committed to your success & good vibes at faculty meetings. Proximity to @pennmedicine.bsky.social means you can work with top people on any clinical need. be.engineering.upenn.edu/about/open-f...
be.engineering.upenn.edu
Open Faculty Positions
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Reposted by Alex Hughes Lab
Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
An interview with Alex Hughes Read our interview with Alex Hughes @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social, a Guest Editor for our special issue #DevSIextracellular, discussing the importance of the extracellular environment and the challenges it poses to classical experimental design. doi.org/10.1242/dev....
Alex Hughes
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Alex Eve @amjeve.uk · 27/08/2026
I'm excited to see @dev-journal.bsky.social's #DevSIextracellular take shape with articles like this one. The special issue will be completed soon. A big thanks to @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social & @rashmi-priya.bsky.social for their contributions as Guest Editors. Browse the Table of Contents so far:
journals.biologists.com
Volume 153 Issue 16 | Development | The Company of Biologists
Development is the leading community journal in developmental biology, publishing research and reviews across the spectrum of animal and plant developmental biology.
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Kate Cavanaugh @katecavanaugh.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
🧵 What if one reason fertility declines with age isn’t just genetic-but mechanical? Thrilled to share our new paper in @NatureCellBio : Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/11
nature.com
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females - Nature Cell Biology
Cavanaugh et al. show that embryos from aged mice have increased contractility and tissue viscosity on embryonic day 4.5, which leads to poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanica...
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Miki Ebisuya @ebisuyamiki.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
New paper from the lab! authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S... We find that protein degradation is broadly slower in human segmentation clock cells than in mouse cells, regardless of the degradation pathway or protein category! 1/
authors.elsevier.com
Systematic differences in protein stability underlie species-specific developmental tempo
Human embryonic development proceeds more slowly than in mice. The segmentation clock offers a tractable model for studying species-specific developme…
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James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Good to see this out Mouse neural progenitors degrade proteins faster than human, driven by higher proteasome activity Increasing IRX3 turn over speeds OLIG2 induction, implicates protein stability in developmental tempo Great work by @trayon.bsky.social & co authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com
Proteasome-dependent protein degradation shapes developmental tempo in mouse and human neural progenitors
The pace of embryonic development differs between mammalian species, yet the molecular basis for this remains unknown. By comparing protein dynamics i…
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Kotaro Sasaki @kotaro-sasaki.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Thrilled to share that our paper is now out in Cell Stem Cell!🧬 We generated spermatogonia from human and non-human primate pluripotent stem cells, opening new avenues for studying human germ cell biology and in vitro gametogenesis. www.nature.com/articles/d41... www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
cell.com
Generation of spermatogonia from human and non-human primate pluripotent stem cells
Sasaki and colleagues generate human and macaque male germ cells up to meiotic onset, including prepachytene piRNA-expressing spermatogonia, from induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells self-organ...
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jared toettcher @toettch.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Hey friends, we're hiring over here at Princeton Bioengineering! In addition to the usual positions (faculty, grad students, postdocs), BioE is looking for a Program Manager to help oversee big multi-PI projects (e.g. DARPA, ARPA-H). Pass along & apply if interested! apply.interfolio.com/187973
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Congrats to Hughes lab PhD student Ronald Canlla and all other ASN KidneyCure Fellowship/Grant recipients! Ronald's work is achieving remote control over epithelial morphogenesis using light, focusing on the kidney's ureteric bud. www.kidneycure.org/pages/qa.aspx
kidneycure.org
KidneyCure | Spotlights/Q&A - Who We Fund
Learn more about who KidneyCure funds.
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Xavier Trepat @xaviertrepat.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Our latest work on shape-programmable tissues is out in @science.org. By positioning topological defects in cellular nematics, we encode frustrated 2D force fields that relax into predictable 3D shapes. Collaboration with Marino Arroyo’s lab, led by @pauguillamat.bsky.social at @ibecbarcelona.eu.
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
@lsprahl.bsky.social and Ronald Canlla in the lab just published a detailed study on remote-controlled epithelial budding morphogenesis. We can direct budding, tubule elongation, and perhaps branching in human kidney organoids via a light-activated RET receptor. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Miki Ebisuya @ebisuyamiki.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
New preprint from the lab! How do tissue shapes influence cell fate decisions? By manipulating brain organoid geometry, we show that lumen rounding directs apical progenitor division mode and promotes the emergence of basal progenitors. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/
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austin (he/him) @austinjgraham.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
organs develop in a dynamic environment where their boundaries are constantly changing shape, relaxing, compressing, etc. in synchrony with the embryo. see how this inspired us to create a material for optimal organoid bioprinting & self-organization! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Stress-relaxing granular bioprinting materials enable complex and uniform organoid self-organization - Nature Materials
A tunable granular biomaterial matrix is developed to support long-term bioprinting. Stress relaxation at high strains and long timescales is shown to be important for tissue self-organization in inte...
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Kotaro Sasaki @kotaro-sasaki.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Thrilled to share our new paper in Cell Stem Cell! 🧬 We generated stem cell–derived human adrenal tissue with functional zonation, recapitulating key aspects of the adrenal cortex’s 3D architecture and steroidogenic activity. www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce... Kudos to the entire team!
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Jeff Miner @jeffminerphd.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Glomerular basement membrane (GBM) structural integrity dictates trans-tissu... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Really proud of this Cell Reports paper showing that the potentially pathogenic laminin alpha2 in the Alport GBM comes not from glomerular cells, but from the bloodstream.
sciencedirect.com
Glomerular basement membrane structural integrity dictates trans-tissue deposition of laminin in the kidney
Basement membranes (BMs) are specialized extracellular matrices (ECMs) essential for tissue structure and function. In non-vertebrates, ECM components…
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Nature Biotechnology @natbiotech.nature.com · 11/02/2026
Developmentally inspired synthetic kidney engineering - @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social @pennengineering.bsky.social go.nature.com/46tacJq
go.nature.com
Developmentally inspired synthetic kidney engineering - Nature Biotechnology
Hughes and colleagues present a developmentally inspired tissue engineering strategy to overcome barriers in kidney tissue generation, enhancing prospects for renal replacement therapies.
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Check out our new @natbiotech.nature.com review on how to build kidneys & other epithelial organs using principles from embryonic development. Led by Emma Warrner and @azyhuang.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41... rdcu.be/e3fy0
rdcu.be
Developmentally inspired synthetic kidney engineering
Nature Biotechnology - Hughes and colleagues present a developmentally inspired tissue engineering strategy to overcome barriers in kidney tissue generation, enhancing prospects for renal...
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Reposted by Alex Hughes Lab
Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – The Extracellular Environment in Development, Regeneration and Stem Cells Guest Editors: Alex Hughes (@hugheslabpenn.bsky.social) & Rashmi Priya (@rashmi-priya.bsky.social) Deadline: 1 March 2026 journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/ex...
Special Issue
The Extracellular Environment in Development, Regeneration and Stem Cells
Guest Editors
Alex Hughes (University of Pennsylvania)
Rashmi Priya (The Francis Crick Institute)

Submission deadline: 1 March 2026.

Development call for papers. Image of magenta and teal cells in a jawbone.
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Lukasz Bugaj @bugajlab.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Now in print at ACS Synbio! Introducing Aviatar: a concept for inducible translocation to any cell compartment using only a 1-component probe pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org
Optogenetic Translocation to Subcellular Compartments through Regulation of Protein Avidity
Inducible translocation to subcellular compartments is a common strategy for protein switches that control a variety of cell behaviors. However, existing switches achieve translocation through induced...
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Lukasz Bugaj @bugajlab.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Speaker lineup posted for FASEB: Dynamics and Encoding in Cell Signaling (June 2026)! Live-cell imaging, biosensors, signal dynamics, and quant. modeling/analysis, across the biosciences. Stellar lineup, Keynotes from Tobias Meyer and Jin Zhang Join us in Nashville! tinyurl.com/bd9wmyve
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
If you are considering where to publish new research on extracellular/non-autonomous/geometric/physical cause and effect in development, consider our @dev-journal.bsky.social special issue, with @rashmi-priya.bsky.social!
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John Wallingford @jbwallingford.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Meeting Alert! Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting! 👇 @socdevbio.bsky.social @insdb.bsky.social @bscb-official.bsky.social @isdb.bsky.social @bsdb.bsky.social @ascbiology.bsky.social
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Lukasz Bugaj @bugajlab.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
🚨Preprint 2/2: Several studies implicate condensates in RTK fusion onco-signaling. So we were surprised to find that condensates are entirely dispensable😮(!). A study from proteins to mice, by dynamic duo @davidgonzmar.bsky.social and @trmumford.bsky.social. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 👇
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Lukasz Bugaj @bugajlab.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
🚨New preprint(1/2)! We show that RTK fusion oncoproteins broadly suppress EGFR signaling. How? Sequestration of adapters as the shared principle. Led by superb PhD student Carol Gao. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Implications for drug tolerance/resistance, and includes one big surprise🫧.👇
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juanalvarezdom.bsky.social @juanalvarezdom.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
🚨Publication update🚨 DEC1 regulates human β cell functional maturation and circadian rhythm: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...
cell.com
DEC1 regulates human β cell functional maturation and circadian rhythm
Preza et al. show that DEC1, a circadian clock regulator, promotes mature insulin responses to glucose stimulation in human stem cell-derived islet organoids. DEC1 is restricted to maturing β cells, w...
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
*New preprint alert* uncovering a mechanical pacemaker that synchronizes nephron formation with branching of the kidney's epithelial tubule tree. Read below to learn about this twisty journey lead by Sam Grindel and Sachin Davis in the lab. [Movie by Nils Lindstrom] www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Joel Boerckel @jboerckel.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Very excited to see our paper, led by @amilangscience.bsky.social, out today in @pnas.org! This one was a true adventure, filled with surprises at every turn. “Erythroid precursors regulate local oxygen tension and repair outcomes in the bone marrow niche.” www.pnas.org/eprint/NJ8XC...
pnas.org
Erythroid precursors regulate local oxygen tension and repair outcomes in the bone marrow niche | PNAS
Oxygen tension dynamically regulates stem cell fate and tissue regeneration, yet how local oxygen availability is controlled within the bone marrow...
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Stop by to see our posters at #CellBio2025, including plenty of unpublished new directions!
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Aria 哲媛 Huang @azyhuang.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
if you are attending #CellBio2025 please check out the posters from our lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social. The lab will have a great showing this year featuring my talented colleagues @lsprahl.bsky.social @danielalber.bsky.social and many others!
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Rose Z. Hill, Ph.D. @rose-hill.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Our story on mechanosensation in baroreceptor cells of the kidney is finally out! Well worth the wait on this project we began in 2020 that turned into a massive collaborative effort within the kidney field. 🫘 www.sciencedirect.com:5037/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
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John Wallingford @jbwallingford.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
SAVE THE DATE! Stoked to organize the 2026 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting with @rashmi-priya.bsky.social, @lowelab.bsky.social, and Shelbi Russell. Come learn about Biomedicine, Biomechanics, and the Biosphere, August 24-28, 2026. Registration dates, etc., coming soon! Please RT
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Daniel J. Cohen (Princeton) @djcohen.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
So: can a cell hold hands with itself…and do we care? YES and YES! Read on to learn WHY, HOW, and what this has to do with…PARIS (and tree-hugging)? Swansong of Dr. Anamika; Hannah Kim on drums; and fantastic undergrads (Margaret/Lauren) ! 1/n advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Fantastic mechanics in fertility / development story from @katecavanaugh.bsky.social. Hiring committees take note 👀
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Pierre Haas @lepuslapis.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Now #published @pnas.org: "A model for boundary-driven tissue morphogenesis", a great #biophysics #devbio collaboration led by @danielalber.bsky.social @zhaoshh.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505160122 @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social @flatironinstitute.org
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Cool paper by new Hughes lab postdoc @danielalber.bsky.social
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Apply to join our Penn Bioengineering department, featuring friendly, supportive faculty and staff, rigorous science, and top students! apply.interfolio.com/173716
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Great opportunity to work with a very creative PI
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Aria Huang's @azyhuang.bsky.social paper is out on beautiful embryonic kidney 3D cultures that branch properly and enable live defect analysis. She also finds intriguing effects of adhesion and stiffness on explant size, shape, and nephron formation - boundary conditions matter! rdcu.be/eBSUK
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Kate Miroshnikova @katemiro.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Pathologists have used nuclear & tissue shapes to diagnose #cancer for decades, but what is the molecular basis for this? In our latest work, we develop a computational pipeline to figure this out in #colorectalcancer! Check out 🧵& preprint #mechanobiology #stemcells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Michael P Hart 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @michaelphart1.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Do you like neuronal #plasticity? #genetics? #Celegans? Check out 1st installment of work by Kristi Zoga in the lab. Kristi screened 20 conserved #autism genes for roles in experience-dependent #neuron remodeling and a related behavior. doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyaf156
doi.org
Multiple autism genes influence GABA neuron remodeling via distinct developmental trajectories
Abstract. Variation in over 100 genes are now associated with increased risk for autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions, but how this variation r
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Emily Kolenbrander Ho @emkolen.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
pYtags - our in vivo biosensors for receptor tyrosine kinases - in all their beauty on the cover of Cell Reports! Read more here: www.cell.com/cell-reports...
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Super cool project #2
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Super cool project @vayyappan.bsky.social
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John Wallingford @jbwallingford.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Birth defects kill twice as many children as cancer. Animal model are crucial; no stem-cell or computer models can yet recapitulate the embryo's complexity. If you support birth defects research tell NIH that animal models are important! Click & scroll below to comment. tinyurl.com/mr3he6bx
tinyurl.com
FDA-NIH Workshop: Reducing Animal Testing
The FDA is hosting a workshop on reducing animal testing. The workshop is open to current FDA and NIH employees.
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Pau Guillamat @pauguillamat.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
New preprint out! We show how cellular nematic order can be harnessed to program tissue-wide force fields and guide 3D shape transformations. The tissue morphogenesis logic, now engineered into living, programmable materials. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ActiveMatter #TissueEngineering
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brangwynnelab.bsky.social @brangwynnelab.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Start of 2025 @mblscience.bsky.social Physiology course! This is the second year of Amy @gladfelterlab.bsky.social and I co-Directing this absolutely amazing and life-changing course: www.mbl.edu/education/ad...
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Alex Hughes Lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Our own @azyhuang.bsky.social is a student this year representing the kidney fanatics
media.tenor.com
two men are standing next to each other with the words `` day 1 you got this '' written on them .
ALT: two men are standing next to each other with the words `` day 1 you got this '' written on them .
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