Diana Khoromskaia
@dianakhorom.bsky.social
Theoretical physics of living matter, cell and tissue morphogenesis Juniorprofessor @uni-muenster.de Prev: Postdoc @TheCrick @UCL Physics| PhD @WarwickUni| MSc @UniHeidelberg
Two days left to apply for a PhD position in our group, see below!
Diana Khoromskaia@dianakhorom.bsky.social · last mo.🚨Job Alert: PhD in Theoretical Biophysics 🚨 we are looking for a PhD student to join our group at Uni Münster to work on models of multi-layered active materials @uni-muenster.de More details here: stellen.uni-muenster.de/jobposting/6... Please share and contact me if interested!
🚨Job Alert: PhD in Theoretical Biophysics 🚨 we are looking for a PhD student to join our group at Uni Münster to work on models of multi-layered active materials @uni-muenster.de More details here: stellen.uni-muenster.de/jobposting/6... Please share and contact me if interested!
Doctoral Research Associate (Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in, salary level E 13 TV-L, 67%)
stellen.uni-muenster.de
New in @dev-journal.bsky.social: how tissue shape tells cells what to become Using human stem-cell neuruloids, we show how that physical boundaries encode positional information that drives cell fate patterning in a model of trunk formation A thread 🧵 journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Boundary constraints can determine pattern emergence
Summary: A reaction-diffusion mechanism recapitulates pattern emergence in an in vitro model of neuromesodermal progenitors under a variety of boundary and geometrical perturbations.
journals.biologists.com
#OPENACCESS: Cells don’t just communicate through calcium waves; nematic cell alignment shapes how information propagates. Winterstrain et al. show that nematic defects can desynchronize signaling, with calcium waves traveling fastest when perpendicular to tissue orientation.
Nematic cell alignment directs calcium waves in an epithelial monolayer
Tissues rely on supracellular signals to coordinate their cells over a long range. Two such tissue-scale cues are calcium waves and patterns of cell-cell alignment or nematic order. During wound…
cell.com
This year’s @sfb1348.bsky.social meeting @uni-muenster.de has come to a close. 3 days of inspiring science, stimulating discussions, and valuable exchange made it a truly rewarding event. Many thanks to all participants - we’re already looking forward to the next one! Photos © Michael Kuhlmann
🍰Read also the Research Briefing: 👉https://rdcu.be/flTlO bit.ly/4wWf0CF
Tissue organization and morphogen gradients dynamically tune one another - Nature Cell Biology
During embryogenesis, morphogen signalling is known to pattern tissues as they remodel. Using genetic and optogenetic perturbations, together with theoretical frameworks of phase transitions and bioch...
bit.ly
in the starting blocks ... Excited to open the meeting today! Mechanochemical Signals at #CellularInterfaces @sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de www.uni-muenster.de/SFB1348/en/m...
💫 Our paper is now published at @natcellbio.nature.com! So excited about this work done during my PhD at @embl.org in the group of @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social along with our great collaborators! 🐟🎉
Nicoletta Petridou@nicolettapetridou.bsky.social · 3mo agoGlad to see this out in its final form! www.nature.com/articles/s41... What changed since the preprint? Wonderful experiments disentangling the effect of receptor binding vs tissue porosity on Nodal diffusion, plus one of the smoothest review experiences! Thanks @natcellbio.nature.com & reviewers 🙏
The @sfb1348.bsky.social Meeting “Mechanochemical Signals at Cellular Interfaces” is just around the corner! We are excited to welcome an outstanding lineup of international speakers to #Münster for three days of inspiring scientific exchange and discussion. @uni-muenster.de
Glad to see this out in its final form! www.nature.com/articles/s41... What changed since the preprint? Wonderful experiments disentangling the effect of receptor binding vs tissue porosity on Nodal diffusion, plus one of the smoothest review experiences! Thanks @natcellbio.nature.com & reviewers 🙏
Tissue rigidity phase transition shapes morphogen gradients - Nature Cell Biology
Autorino et al. report a feedback loop between Nodal signalling and tissue phase transitions in zebrafish embryos. Nodal alters adhesion, triggering tissue rigidification and reduced porosity, which l...
nature.com
Nicoletta Petridou@nicolettapetridou.bsky.social · last yr.Here our latest work on how morphogens trigger tissue phase transitions to tune their own length-scales and time-scales - An exciting collaboration with @zhvas.bsky.social @dianakhorom.bsky.social Bernat Corominas-Murtra and heroic experiments by the incredible @cami-autorino.bsky.social @embl.org
This is going to be marvellous — looking forward to three inspiring days of exchange and discussion on #cellularinterfaces @sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de
SFB 1348@sfb1348.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe @sfb1348.bsky.social Meeting “Mechanochemical Signals at Cellular Interfaces” is just around the corner! We are excited to welcome an outstanding lineup of international speakers to #Münster for three days of inspiring scientific exchange and discussion. @uni-muenster.de
All you ever wanted to know about how to analyse the nematic nature of cellular tissues is right here 👀👇🏼! Bonus #1: we did it for many cell types and uncovered unexpected defect behavior 🐌 Bonus #2: for theoreticians looking for parameter values for your simulation🧑🏼💻 tinyurl.com/2s399yen
Just published in @science.org 🚀 By controlling how cells align, we show that living nematic tissues can be programmed to generate forces and fold into predictable 3D shapes. A new platform for tissue engineering and the design of smart active materials! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Science | AAAS
science.org
Pau Guillamat@pauguillamat.bsky.social · last yr.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
New study on topological defects develops a mechanochemical model integrating morphogen concentration and hydrodynamic flow, reproducing experimental collective motility and revealing viscosity, activity, and alignment strength as key factors governing defect-mediated transport.
Mechanochemical coupling regulates defect dynamics in active nematics
Active nematics offer a versatile continuum framework for nonequilibrium collective phenomena, such as collective cell migration and tissue morphogenesis. However, the dynamic evolution of active…
cell.com
The CiM-IMPRS PhD program in #Münster is offering 16 #PhD positions in Life and Natural Sciences! Perform cutting-edge resesearch in a vibrant international setting and lively city! Apply by May 1st, 2026 - see www.uni-muenster.de/CiM-IMPRS/ap... @uni-muenster.de @mpi-muenster.bsky.social
Congratulations Guillaume #Salbreux and collaborator @aikmi.bsky.social groups for your latest publication in @cellcellpress.bsky.social: Deciphering #mechanical determinants of morphological #evolution @genevunige.bsky.social @sciencesunige.bsky.social #UNIGE 👉 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution
A comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis combined with active surface theory identifies a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that predict species-specific shapes. Manipulating these m...
cell.com
A sea anemone looks very different from a coral, despite belonging to the same broad biological group. A new study from EMBL researchers and their colleagues sheds new light on how diversity arises in body shapes in the animal world. www.embl.org/news/science...
🔥Exciting new paper from the Ikmi group @embl.org! The authors identified a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that can be used to predict species-specific shapes by combining a comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis with active surface theory #morphogenesis #cnidaria
Aissam Ikmi@aikmi.bsky.social · 5mo agoOur study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org
Amazing to see this study finally out! Proud to have contributed to the active surface modelling of cnidaria morphogenesis across species and huge congrats to Richard, Nicolas, and all authors! #morphogenesis #activematter #nematicorder #evolution
Aissam Ikmi@aikmi.bsky.social · 5mo agoOur study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org
Now online! Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution
Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution
A comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis combined with active surface theory identifies a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that predict species-specific shapes. Manipulating these modules reprograms morphology, revealing how variation in tissue-scale mechanics underlies morphological diversity.
dlvr.it
Tissue phase transitions in development: more than just mechanics In this Review, @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social, @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social and @karengrace12.bsky.social discuss tissue phase transitions during development: doi.org/10.1242/dev....
We summarised the many roles of material phase transitions in development (and they are not just mechanical 🤔)
Laura Rustarazo-Calvo@laura-rustarazo.bsky.social · 6mo agoExcited to share our new review in @dev-journal.bsky.social on tissue phase transitions during development! @karengrace12.bsky.social @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social 🔗 doi.org/10.1242/dev....
Excited to share our new review in @dev-journal.bsky.social on tissue phase transitions during development! @karengrace12.bsky.social @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social 🔗 doi.org/10.1242/dev....
Tissue phase transitions in development: more than just mechanics
Summary: Tissue material phase transitions are classically thought to regulate tissue deformability. This Review emphasises their unexpected roles in directly influencing growth and patterning signall...
doi.org
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
My lab @cri-utsw.bsky.social is looking for a highly motivated postdoct interested in mechanobiology! We are building a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary team working on how mechanical forces shape immune and cancer cell behavior. Come do cool science with me! lnkd.in/gKEXWUGy
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
Isasti-Sanchez, J., Münz-Zeise, F., Lancino, M., & Luschnig, S. (2021). Transient opening of tricellular vertices controls paracellular transport through the follicle epithelium during Drosophila oogenesis. Developmental Cell, #EpithelialMechanics doi.org/10.1016/j.de...
Cellular Interfaces reloaded: Join us for the @sfb1348.bsky.social International Meeting on „Mechanochemical signals at cellular interfaces" in Münster from May 27–29, 2026. Registration opens in February! Limited spots – first come, first serve! More info: tinyurl.com/ypyzd23w @uni-muenster.de
How does signalling control cortical tension? Using optogenetics and AFM, we show that myosin recruitment and cortical tension increase proportionally with RhoA signalling. More here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Super work by Pierre Bohec with Guillaume Salbreux and @dianakhorom.bsky.social
New preprint out! We use optogenetics, AFM, and active surface modelling to link signalling ⚡ → mechanics ⚙️ → cell shape 🔵
Guillaume Charras@gcharras.bsky.social · 8mo agoHow does signalling control cortical tension? Using optogenetics and AFM, we show that myosin recruitment and cortical tension increase proportionally with RhoA signalling. More here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Super work by Pierre Bohec with Guillaume Salbreux and @dianakhorom.bsky.social
