Happy to share that I successfully defended my PhD thesis! 🎉 My time at @embl.org has been full of learning, exciting science, and amazing people - I feel so fortunate for this experience. Thank you to @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social for her caring mentorship and for building such a wonderful lab. 💐

EMBL DB unit@embldbunit.bsky.social · last mo.

🎓Congratulations to Laura Rustarazo-Calvo @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social from the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social who has successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Uncoupling adhesion- and density-driven rigidity transitions triggers epithelial organisation in embryonic tissues”

I am thrilled to share my PhD work with @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... A fun collaboration with Bernat Corominas-Murtra, Adrián Aguirre-Tamaral, @bart-smeets.bsky.social , Jef Vanghel and Tom Belpaire! Read the story in the comments below ⤵️

Double preprint! 👇 Check out our latest studies on timing, heterogeneity and collective behaviour (with a fun tiny bonus on evolution!) 1. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 2. arxiv.org/abs/2605.13234

Cellular timing heterogeneity regulates phase transitions in living matter

Rigidity transitions govern tissue organization in ways reminiscent of inert materials. Yet, living tissues are composed of active units with autonomous timing mechanisms, raising the question whether...

biorxiv.org

Lena Schindler@lena-schindler.bsky.social · last mo.

I am thrilled to share my PhD work with @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... A fun collaboration with Bernat Corominas-Murtra, Adrián Aguirre-Tamaral, @bart-smeets.bsky.social , Jef Vanghel and Tom Belpaire! Read the story in the comments below ⤵️

Our beautiful mosaic embryo made it to the cover! 🔥

Nicoletta Petridou@nicolettapetridou.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A very pleasant surprise to see that we got the cover for this paper 🥳 @natphys.nature.com

...and here is @embl.org's press release on the two latest papers by @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social's group on how rigidity phase transitions guide 1️⃣ tissue organisation and 2️⃣ morphogen gradients in embryonic tissues. 🐟

EMBL@embl.org · 2mo ago

How do the physical properties of embryos affect their development? New research from EMBL scientists and collaborators shows that tissue mechanics actively influence developmental signalling – revealing new links between physics and embryogenesis. www.embl.org/news/science...

⚡ Our paper is now out in @natphys.nature.com ! This version now includes a detailed molecular characterisation of the optogenetic perturbations, new insights on the relevance of tricellular junctions for tissue morphology, and beautiful light-sheet timelapses. 🔬 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Adhesion-driven rigidity transition decoupled from density-driven jamming triggers epithelial organization in embryonic tissues - Nature Physics

Tissue phase transitions are key to morphogenesis. Now adhesion-driven rigidification is identified as key to epithelial organization but only if uncoupled from density-driven jamming.

nature.com

Laura Rustarazo-Calvo@laura-rustarazo.bsky.social · last yr.

🎉 Excited to share our new work: “Adhesion-driven tissue rigidification triggers epithelial cell polarity”, now on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social ! A huge thank you to @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social, Bernat, @crisp-c.bsky.social, Adrián, and everyone involved! 🙌 🧵⤵️

💫 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 ago

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 🙏

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

EMBL graduated its biggest class ever at the end of April, celebrating with 60 fellows who submitted or defended their theses over the past 12 months. Representing 22 different countries, EMBL graduates continued to show a diversity in science as well as background. Congratulations graduates!

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....

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

Abstract deadline extension alert! 🚨 You now have until 25 November to submit your abstract and be one of 22 selected short talk speakers for #EESCollectivity ➡️ s.embl.org/ees26-01-bl Explore how collective behaviours arise from fundamental principles across biological systems. 🦠🐒🧬

An unexpected topic I encountered during my PhD: tricellular junctions. I first knew them as local regulators of tissue mechanics, but over time have realised their broader impact at the tissue scale. I wrote a brief overview of this in a thread for @epimechfc.bsky.social.

epithelial mechanics fan club@epimechfc.bsky.social · 7mo ago

How can structures at the vertex of 3 cells have effects at the tissue level? Join me, @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social, to explore how tricellular junctions (TCJs) act as local tension sensors and regulators of global tissue organization. 🧵⤵️ doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Feb 1 deadline approaching for our @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social QBio summer course on Physical Principles of Morphogenesis in Plants and Animals. @streichan.bsky.social @maurazimmermann.bsky.social @maizel-lab.org @yusuke-mori.bsky.social @akankshi.bsky.social @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social

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! 🎉

You only have one more week to submit your abstract for 'Collectivity in living systems: emergence, function, and evolution' 👉 s.embl.org/ees26-01-bl Don't miss #EESCollectivity which will explore how collective behaviours arise from fundamental principles across biological systems🦠🐒🧬

⚡ Check out the lab's latest preprint - beautiful work by @cami-autorino.bsky.social ⚡

Camilla Autorino@cami-autorino.bsky.social · last yr.

🔔 Proud to share the preprint of my PhD work in the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org ✨ “A closed feedback between tissue phase transitions and morphogen gradients drives patterning dynamics” 🐟 🔁 📶 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #devbio #biophysics 🧵⤵️

Join this week's VGZT seminar to explore evo-devo in eels and how rigidity transitions shape embryonic tissue organization! 🐟

Virtual Gastrulation Zoom Talks@vgzt2021.bsky.social · last yr.

Please join next week‘s Western 🌙 VGZT: 🗓️ Thursday, May 22 ⏰ 9:30 PDT / 12:30 EDT / 16:30 UTC / 17:30 BST / 18:30 CET @aliseleit.bsky.social 👉Developmental heterochrony & evolution of segmentation in eels @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social 👉Rigidity transitions & epithelial organization in 🐟 embryos

🎉 Excited to share our new work: “Adhesion-driven tissue rigidification triggers epithelial cell polarity”, now on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social ! A huge thank you to @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social, Bernat, @crisp-c.bsky.social, Adrián, and everyone involved! 🙌 🧵⤵️