🚨 Reminder! The Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium registration is now open. April 24–25, 2026 Keynote: Jay Storz, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln Abstract Deadline: April 6, 2026 #MBMSS26

Previously we had shown that axolotl tail regeneration occurs in the absence of somitogenesis. In the updated manuscript we propose that vertebral segmentation during tail regeneration occurs through a process of buckling instability. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Checkout this updated preprint-a tour de force and truly globe-spanning collaboration with an exceptional group of scientists.

MDI Bio Lab has been awarded a 5-year, $2.3M grant from the NIH to train the next generation of leaders in #regenerativemedicine. The PI for the grant? @murawalalab.bsky.social 👏 #standwithscience #researchmatters 🧪 🤝

One of my NSF grant focused on imaging was considered meritorious but rejected. An example of comments - I did not mention how many channels we have on our custom-built microscope and I did not mention catalog number of antibodies that we intend to use. I mean seriously 🤯 What is wrong with you?

Last week, MDI Bio Lab hosted #ReBilD2025, a course that brought together top scientists working across a wide range of regenerative animal models. The result? Exciting opportunities for collaboration and intellectual cross-pollination. 🧪 🤝 🍎 👩‍🔬 🧬 #standwithscience #researchmatters

I had a fantastic time at @mdibiolab.bsky.social for the ReBilD course! Getting to learn about regeneration from pioneers in the field and experience first-hand the power of different models was life changing. ❤️

This week we welcome participants to ReBilD 2025: Emerging Leaders in Regenerative Biology & Development! Over 10 days, they’ll explore regeneration and development through hands-on research and seminars—guided by outstanding faculty! #ReBilD2025 #standwithscience #researchmatters 🧪 🤝 🧬 🍎 👩‍🔬 🖥️🧬

Organized by @antihebbiann.bsky.social (Ann Kennelly), Gordon Berman, Sam Golden, and me. Apply early, we fill up fast!

This image from 2024 is by MDI Bio Lab Senior Scientist Travis Carney. It shows the neurons in the brain of a #Drosophila fruit fly larva. The images are color-coded projections, so different focal planes are in different colors. #standwithscience #researchmatters #microscopymonday #lightsheet 🧪 🤝

When 2024 SURF student David Tettey Tawiah realized that future students might not have the same opportunity he did, he took action — becoming a monthly donor through our Catalysts Circle, a community who believes in the power of science education. #standwithscience #researchmatters 🧪 🤝 🍎

Fabian Voigt — visiting scientist at MDI Bio Lab and ‪@harvard.edu‬ neurobiologist postdoc — helped install our mesoSPIM microscope and is now building tools to track zebrafish brain activity as they swim and interact. Read the Q&A. #standwithscience #researchmatters 🧪 🤝

A preprint co-authored by MDI Bio Lab Ph.D. student @damgargar.bsky.social (@murawalalab.bsky.social) is already turning heads! The study was recently highlighted by @prelights.bsky.social, a journal featuring noteworthy preprints of particular interest to the biological community. 🧪 🤝

We're grateful to have our #preprint featured in @prelights.bsky.social. Thank you @dhanuush.bsky.social for selecting it! Check it out! 🤩 @mdibiolab.bsky.social @murawalalab.bsky.social

📢Early Bird Deadline Extended to July 15! We have extended the deadline for InSDB-ISD early bird registrations to July 15. Don’t miss your chance to register at discounted rates-register now! insdb.in/events/insdb...

Axolotl limb regeneration decoded! Connective-tissue cells aren’t just participants – they are essential architects of new limbs. Remove them, and regeneration stalls! First #preLight post from @dhanuush.bsky.social, highlighting #preprint from @murawalalab.bsky.social and team:

Check out my first preLights post highlighting the work of team @murawalalab.bsky.social!

Thank you Dhanuush for highlighting our work.

MDI Biological Laboratory is #hiring an Executive Coordinator to support our President, Chief of Staff, and leadership team. A key role at the intersection of strategy, operations, and communication. Learn more and apply below. 🧪 🤝 #standwithscience #researchmatters

Check out this exciting work by Tim from @jamesmonaghan.bsky.social‬ lab on the gene circuit of RA during limb regeneration www.nature.com/articles/s41...

For #MicroscopyMonday, a 100M year-old 🦟 in amber! Lots of familiar #NESM faces up in Acadia for the #LSFM25 at the MDI @mdibiolab.bsky.social ! 🔬: Bruker @brukercorporation.bsky.social, LCS SPIM 🟠: Courtesy the Sims Collection 🥼&🎥: Jan Frankowski @frankowskijc.bsky.social @lsfm-na.bsky.social

While we are on our lunch break, the students are enjoying some beautiful weather here at @mdibiolab.bsky.social. #lsfm25 #microscopy #science #education

This #microscopymonday image by Assistant Professor Prayag @murawalalab.bsky.social is of a juvenile axolotl. It shows transgenic line labeling of the central and peripheral nervous system through a stereoscope. #standwithscience #researchmatters #microscopy #fluorescentproteins #lightsheet 🧪 🤝

That's lovely ☺️

Meet the axolotl — salamanders that can regrow entire limbs, parts of their heart, spinal cord, and even parts of their brain. Studying how axolotls regenerate could unlock big clues for healing in humans. 🔬🦎 #standwithscience #researchmatters 🧪 🤝 🖥️ 🧬

Indeed!!! So many cool discoveries and progress in the field... 🎉

Very cool!

Congratulations

Rejuvenation in planarians. Check out the details in this link: www.nature.com/nataging?gcl... @nataging.nature.com

This #microscopymonday image is by Omar Maged in the @murawalalab.bsky.social. It is of an axolotl kidney showing the glomeruli (magenta). The glomeruli is a cluster of capillaries around the end of a kidney tubule (gray), where waste products are filtered from the blood. #standwithscience 🧪 🤝

We would like to thank @biologists.bsky.social and @isrbio.bsky.social for support to ReBilD course. @intersted_applicants: Still few spots left, deadline is approaching soon. mdibl.org/course/rebil...

We would like to thank @biologists.bsky.social and @isrbio.bsky.social for support to ReBilD course. @intersted_applicants: Still few spots left, deadline is approaching soon. mdibl.org/course/rebil...

📢 Deadline for submitting articles to #LifelongDevSI is 30 May 2025 Submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. Guest Editors: Meritxell Huch and Mansi Srivastava journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/li...

🎙️ Assistant Professor @murawalalab.bsky.social was recently featured on the @bbcwhatintheworld podcast "What in the World," where the discussion is about how the endangered wild axolotl salamander looks to be making a comeback! 🧪 🤝

For #3DThursday, a cleared axolotl on a line confocal! 🥽: syGlass.io 🔬: Dual-View Line Scanning Confocal: www.mbl.edu/research/res... 🥼: @ryliewalsh.bsky.social, @mblscience.bsky.social 🐉: @murawalalab.bsky.social, @mdibiolab.bsky.social 🏛️: MBL Center for Innovation in Imaging and Image Analysis

The @murawalalab.bsky.social is helping to uncover the precise biological processes driving the axolotl salamander's regenerative ability & identifying specific cell populations and genetic activity essential to the axolotl’s ability to regrow a complete and functional limb. 🧬🧪🤝 #standwithscience

The @murawalalab.bsky.social recently contributed to a new paper on Collagen IV from the Hudson lab at @vanderbilt.edu Medical Center. You can find this paper from @asbmb.bsky.social, and others, on the Murawala lab website: murawalalab.mdibl.org/news/ #standwithscience 🧪 🤝 #ResearchPublishing

Thank you Can 🙏

Thank you Aida 🙏

I want to thank my Ph.D. mentor, @murawalalab.bsky.social, and all the co-authors in the manuscript. Without their work, this project wouldn’t be a reality! 🫶 Let us know what you think 😀

With this •⁠ We conclude that CT cells are the majority of blastema cells and are necessary for axolotl limb regeneration •⁠ ⁠Establish a cell ablation system in the axolotl that can be combined with any Cre-specific line •⁠ ⁠⁠Provide a new database of the dynamics in CT cells expression over time

Given their importance, we characterized the molecular dynamics of CT cells over time and deposited this database into an interactive web platform 💻(microarrayct-murawalalab.mdibl.org)

We then eliminated CT cells by using the NTR/MTZ #ablation system. After the specific elimination of CT cells, limb regeneration was delayed or truncated, underscoring the necessity of these cells for #regeneration 🤯

Pre-print alert: This is our latest work on limb regeneration. We found that connective-tissue (CT) cells are necessary for this process by using a combinatorial approach of #spatial transcriptomics and an #ablation system for the first time in the #axolotl! 👇🧵1/6 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Checkout this exciting preprint by a very talented grad student @damgargar.bsky.social from our lab. Congratulations to everyone involved. 🎉🥳 @mdibiolab.bsky.social

The essential role of connective-tissue cells during axolotl limb regeneration https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.30.645595v1

A new preprint is out from @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social with research from MDI Biological Laboratory's @murawalalab.bsky.social. 🧪 🤝 #ScientificResearchPublishing #SciencePublishing #ResearchPublishing #AcademicPublishing #regeneration

Looking to make a real difference in the world? Join our close-knit community of passionate researchers and mission-driven colleagues at MDI Bio Lab! Explore our current openings and become part of a team dedicated to advancing science and changing lives. 🧪 🤝

"Science is where imagination grows into discovery." Karen Crawford’s lifelong curiosity led her to study regeneration—unlocking nature’s secrets for healing and recovery. Science isn’t just knowledge; it’s hope. #standwithscience #standupforscience2025 🧪 🤝

Registration for the ISRB Madison Conference is now open. Early bird registration ends June 15th so don't delay. We also have a pre-meeting workshop for trainees. Hope to see you all in Madison!