Isabella Graf

@isabellagraf.bsky.social

Group leader at EMBL Heidelberg, previously: Postdoc at Yale with Ben Machta, PhD at LMU Munich with Erwin Frey; Theoretical Physicist by training & interested in Physics of Life

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! 🎉

Pit vipers need to hunt in the dark—they sense vibrations on the ground pretty well, but they even prey on birds or fast prey that require precision strikes. Instead, they use some of the most sensitive organs on the planet to locate prey. 1/6 ⚛️🧪

A Malayan Pit Viper illuminated by flashlight, eating a recently-caught frog.  Image credit Gerard Chartier, CC-BY 4.0

With the APS abstract deadline coming next week, please consider submitting to our Cellular Signaling focus session (04.01.29), co-organized with @qiweiyu.bsky.social and sponsored by @aps-dbio.bsky.social. The session will highlight recent theory and experiments across various signaling systems.

Qiwei Yu@qiweiyu.bsky.social · 11mo ago

For the 2026 APS March Meeting, please consider submitting your abstract to our new focus session on Cellular Sensing and Signaling (04.01.29), which aims to bridge theory and experiments to understand how cells sense and respond to environmental signals.

For the 2026 APS March Meeting, please consider submitting your abstract to our new focus session on Cellular Sensing and Signaling (04.01.29), which aims to bridge theory and experiments to understand how cells sense and respond to environmental signals.

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🌱 New beginnings, fresh faces! As our pilot phase wraps up, the school is ready to grow and thrive. We’re thrilled to welcome 18 new fellows to the #MatterToLife Faculty 🎉 Each brings exciting perspectives from across interdisciplinary research. mattertolife.maxplanckschools.org/355008/new-f...

New Faculty Members from October 2025

Matter to Life welcomes 18 new Fellows, enhancing innovative research and mentorship opportunities for PhD candidates starting this October.

mattertolife.maxplanckschools.org

Brand-new conference on collective behaviour! Join us to foster a community to study how interactions among the constituents trigger fascinating collective phenomena: biofilms, fish schools, tissue self-organisation, bird swarms & many more! Thanks to amazing speakers for helping us realise this!

EMBL Events@events.embl.org · 12mo ago

✨ How do bird flocks form or diseases emerge? Join the brand-new EMBO | EMBL Symposium #EESCollectivity and explore how collective behaviours arise from fundamental principles across biological systems 🧬🦠🐒 💻 s.embl.org/ees26-01-bl ✒️ Submit your abstract by 18 Nov

We are @SIAMDS25 in Denver! Visit our mini-symposium on the Role of Transient Dynamics and Switching Transitions for Natural Systems today from 5-7pm and tomorrow 8:30-10:30am. @mpinb.mpg.de

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