Everyone is striving to build better and more complex organoid models—but do we appreciate the importance of standardized and validated models enough? Srivatsan Kidambi introduced us to NIH’s Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Center!

Outstanding keynote by Calvin Kuo from @stanforduniversity.bsky.social on patient-derived tumor organoids, highlighting the importance of the stromal component!

Iwan Jan talked about his work on modeling lens development in vitro. Transparent and in vivo mimicking organoids develop in a Celf1-dependent manner! @igdrennes.bsky.social

Very interesting and directly translatable data from @andreasmoor.bsky.social identifying PlexinB2 as player behind liver cancer metastasis!

Ruben Lopez Sandoval presented his engineered intestine model to study host-microbe interactions. These microtissues secrete mucus and create an environment for Salmonella attachment!

Alessandro Fiorenzano from University of Naples Federico II talked about how to generate A9 and A10 dopaminergic neurons!

Really exciting talk by Okikiola Morenike Olajide from @stanfordpress.bsky.social! Spleen organoids as a platform to study HIV-1 infection and generate B cells in vitro. A powerful step toward more predictive models for vaccine development and testing.

Jose Silva from Guangzhou Laboratory virtually connected to BaCell3D to present his lab’s research on stem cell-based embryo models! Founder cells are key to create structures that contain heart, neural tube and even lung progenitors!

Beatriz Lopez-Amo Calvo from @uniinnsbruck.bsky.social highlighted replenishment response of neural progenitors in brain organoids!

Andrea Banfi told us that engineering the signalling micro environment with angiogenic cues plays a decisive role in in vivo integration of mesenchymal stem cell-derived bone grafts! @unibas.ch

Barbara Treutlein presented her lab’s groundbreaking work on morphogen and drug screening on brain, retina and intestinal organoids! @bsse.ethz.ch

Giuliana Rossi from Roche Institute of Human Biology presented her work on establishing NAMs for teratogenicity testing!

Karoliina Pelttari from @unibas.ch presented their work on generating cartilage microtissues from patient-derived tissues. Metabolism plays an important role in chondrogenic differentiation!

An inspiring keynote by Lorenz Studer from @mskcancercenter.bsky.social showcasing the complete journey of a cell therapy—from in vitro stem cell differentiation to clinical trials. Particularly exciting were the data demonstrating significant improvements in Parkinson’s disease symptoms!

@hausmannannika.bsky.social from @ethz.ch talked on the importance of cellular crosstalk in maintaining intestinal homeostasis and driving inflammation. Particularly impressive were the deep visual proteomics images!

Daphne Bouwens from @rwth.bsky.social presented how kidney organoids can be used to study kidney fibrosis. When combined with single-cell RNA-seq atlases across disease-mimicking conditions, organoids enable identification of molecular drivers and pathways underlying fibrotic disease.

Inspiring talk by Abdullah Khan from @ox.ac.uk on combined bone and bone marrow organoids (comBO). The model enables study of hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and offers insights into disease mechanisms in myelofibrosis and multiple myeloma!

Talk by Liliana Santos-Ferreira (@i3suporto.bsky.social) on the role of glycosylation in gastric cancer. Patient-derived organoids faithfully recapitulated therapy resistance seen in patients, with fucosylation-related pathways among the most differentially expressed.

Karolin Stumpf from @dkfz.bsky.social presented her work on bone marrow organoids in the context of AML (acute myeloid leukemia) engraftment. The model provides a powerful system to study how leukemic cells interact with and colonize the bone marrow niche.

@juliabatki.bsky.social showed that extraembryonic gut cells are eliminated during mouse development through a p53-dependent cell death and are subsequently phagocytosed by embryonic gut cells. A beautiful example of how precise cellular clearance shapes embryonic development!

Fascinating work from Carla Rosell (@bsse.ethz.ch) on pleural mesothelioma. Patient-derived organoids are enabling personalized therapy selection and showing superior tumoroid killing compared with standard chemotherapy.

Ellen Fritsche from SCAHT discussed guidelines for developing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for toxicology testing. She highlighted neurospheres as valuable in vitro models for studying developmental neurotoxicity as they can provide mechanistic insights without relying on animal testing.

Fascinating presentation by Sina Bartfeld from @tuberlin.bsky.social on gastric organoids and H. pylori. Human and mouse GI biology differ substantially, including innate immune signaling, highlighting the need for human-relevant models.

Interesting talk from @oieretxezarreta.bsky.social on the role of T cells in the gut and their contribution to colonocyte inflammation. Validation studies in organoid models showed that treatment with T-cell-derived factors disrupted epithelial integrity.

Maryam Asadikorayem from @uzh-ch.bsky.social presented her work on culturing skin biopsies in vitro. Thin slices survive 7 days in culture and maintain cell type architecture!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the lively first poster session ahead of our networking dinner at KLARA ✨

We welcome all our participants to Basel for the 5th edition of BaCell 3D! We‘re excited for a dense three day program full of cutting-edge science and socializing 🌞

Super excited to be in sunny Basel for @bacell3d.bsky.social this week!🌞Feel free to come say hi at the Meet the Editors tables during tomorrow and Wednesday's coffee breaks 👋

Development@dev-journal.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you are attending BaCell3D (@bacell3d.bsky.social) from 22-24 June in Basel, Switzerland, Reviews Editor @ingridtsang.bsky.social will also be there. Don't forget to chat to Ingrid about @dev-journal.bsky.social and @the-node.bsky.social.

The workshops ahead of the BaCell 3D are kicked off at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch 🥳 We‘re excited to host a wide variety of facilitators this year, from grant writing, organoid imaging, to personal development.

The deadline for the Science Bridging Program is approaching ⏳ Apply by March 29 to receive financial support for attending #BaCell3D2026 in Basel, Switzerland. conferences.unibas.ch/frontend/ind... We look forward to receiving applications from around the world 🌍🗺️