New Toettchlab paper alert! Harrison Oatman just published his beautiful work combining software design for "smart" microscopy+optogenetics and some really beautiful work understanding EGFR-driven collective cell migration. www.cell.com/cell-systems...

A bit late but…Tenured! Immense gratitude for those who got us here. Firstly the students/postdocs (too many to list!) who took a chance on an unproven lab and were unafraid to pursue some strange new ideas. I couldn't have predicted our path, and I couldn’t be more excited for what's next.

#CellSigSRC

Zikang (Dennis) Huang@dennishuang.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Wanna know more about a photoreceptor that encodes a signal adaptation circuit in a single protein, its evolution, and how we engineer it into different info processing modes? Check out poster #26 (and flash talk!) on Tuesday at FASEB signaling!

Wanna know more about a photoreceptor that encodes a signal adaptation circuit in a single protein, its evolution, and how we engineer it into different info processing modes? Check out poster #26 (and flash talk!) on Tuesday at FASEB signaling!

Lukasz Bugaj@bugajlab.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Highlights: Keynotes: Tobias Meyer and Jin Zhang Sessions on metabolism, development, stress, immune, cell cycle, optogenetics, image analysis Workshops on advanced microscopy, organoids Meet-the-experts: academia, industry, publishing Networking (+line dancing!) in Nashville Early reg. ends 5/10!

Missed the deadline to submit an abstract to #FASEB Dynamics and Encoding in Cell Signaling (June 21-25)? Fear not: abstract deadline has been extended for 1 more week, until *Sunday May 10*. Several speaker slots and travel awards remain! events.faseb.org/event/Dynami... #CellSigSRC

Abstracts are due this Sunday, April 26th! ⏰ Come present your latest work to a fantastic community of researchers interested in all aspects of how cell signal dynamics regulate biological function. events.faseb.org/event/Dynami...

FASEB@faseborg.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Encode the cell signals for this "dynamic" conference! Featuring keynotes Tobias Meyer of @weillcornell.bsky.social and @jinzhanglab.bsky.social, alongside organizers Mary Teruel, Eric Batchelor, @bugajlab.bsky.social, and Andrew Paek. Register and submit your abstract by April 26: buff.ly/YMRzst4

Abstracts due in 2 weeks for the Signal Dynamics FASEB! Many speaking slots will be filled from submitted abstracts events.faseb.org/event/Dynami...

FASEB@faseborg.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Encode the cell signals for this "dynamic" conference! Featuring keynotes Tobias Meyer of @weillcornell.bsky.social and @jinzhanglab.bsky.social, alongside organizers Mary Teruel, Eric Batchelor, @bugajlab.bsky.social, and Andrew Paek. Register and submit your abstract by April 26: buff.ly/YMRzst4

Encode the cell signals for this "dynamic" conference! Featuring keynotes Tobias Meyer of @weillcornell.bsky.social and @jinzhanglab.bsky.social, alongside organizers Mary Teruel, Eric Batchelor, @bugajlab.bsky.social, and Andrew Paek. Register and submit your abstract by April 26: buff.ly/YMRzst4

The Hughes lab @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social develops a robust optogenetic RET receptor and shows it can drive shape changes characteristic of kidney development. Will be exciting to see how opto can help us comprehend development of complex tissue structures

Alex Hughes Lab@hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 4mo ago

@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...

Abstract submission now open for the Signaling Dynamics FASEB in Nashville (6/21-25, 2026)! events.faseb.org/event/Dynami... Many speaking slots from submitted abstracts, with a focus on emerging work from trainees and early-career. Come for the science, stay for the line dancing.

Lukasz Bugaj@bugajlab.bsky.social · 7mo ago

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

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

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

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...

rdcu.be

@GRC photoreceptor and signal transduction now! Please come and check my poster #22 on single proteins that’s adaptive to light stimulation!

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/...

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...

pubs.acs.org

Lukasz Bugaj@bugajlab.bsky.social · last yr.

Proteins often bind targets using avidity, the combined interaction strength of multiple weak binders. Now we’ve harnessed this principle for compact, *single*-component optogenetic tools for translocation. Lead by phenom PhD student @dennishuang.bsky.social #synbiosky🧵 📝 tinyurl.com/aviatar

Our new paper just out! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

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...

pubs.acs.org

Zikang (Dennis) Huang@dennishuang.bsky.social · last yr.

Check out our Aviatar toolkit for optogenetic translocation to arbitrary organelles! Simple, modular, compact, and many more.

Defending PhD student, looking over their thesis: “If I knew then what I know now, I could’ve done all of this in like 9 months.” A thread about my favorite pioneering cave explorers and why I don’t think AI will ever “solve” biology.

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

lol real love

(1/n) What if you never had to make your bed? What if your laundry could fold itself? Folding is everywhere around us - but did you know that folding flat sheets are at the ❤️ of diversity of shapes in the animal world - since 500 million years ago. Our latest work: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nudC...

Self-folding laundry

YouTube video by PrakashLab

youtube.com

🚨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... 👇

🚨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🫧.👇

Researcher back to at least 1912 have noticed that nephrons, the blood-filtering units of the kidney, tend to be born just as the nearest epithelial tubule begins to branch. This tree of tubes is called the 'ureteric bud epithelium' - the future urinary collecting system.

🤩🤯 work by @hugheslabpenn.bsky.social: cyclic mechanics entrain proper dev’t timing/patterning in the kidney. Super innovative concepts and approach, congrats all!!

Alex Hughes Lab@hugheslabpenn.bsky.social · 8mo ago

*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...

Our lab neighbors @bugajlab.bsky.social are presenting some cool cell signaling science today and tomorrow at #CellBio2025!

Lukasz Bugaj@bugajlab.bsky.social · 8mo ago

#Cellbio2025 come see the latest from the lab, including on opto/thermogenetics, condensates, RTK fusions, stress granules, biosensors of clustering. Talks and posters today and tomorrow!

#Cellbio2025 come see the latest from the lab, including on opto/thermogenetics, condensates, RTK fusions, stress granules, biosensors of clustering. Talks and posters today and tomorrow!

#cellbio2025 please stop by my talk (Mon 4:35 evolution) and poster (Mon 12:45 #B479 optogenetics) tmr! Title: Intraprotein domain competition dictates pulsatile response of photoreceptors shaped by temperature and evolution. BcLOV4 as a model. I’m also looking for postdoc opportunities!

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!

#CellBio2025 come check out the workshop on applying optogenetic tools in cell biology! Today (Sunday) at 5:30p in Rm 121. Note that this session does *not* appear in the app for some reason

My lab website is now live! My lab feels a bit real now 🥺. Website: www.jasonzhanglab.com

Join us at the 2nd Workshop on Biological Control Systems by @bioctrl.bsky.social . On Nov 19 at 3 PM CET, Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Gebel will present Ningaloo’s work on optogenetic control in biomanufacturing and its role in cyber-bioproduction. 📝Register: lnkd.in/enrHdv_m #optogenetics #synbiology