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. 💐

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

Our beautiful mosaic embryo made it to the cover! 🔥

...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. 🐟

⚡ 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...

💫 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! 🐟🎉

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 🙏

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....

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.

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 ⚡

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

🎉 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! 🙌 🧵⤵️