I couldn’t be prouder of my first postdoc, @nanamism.bsky.social, for winning the Outstanding Research Paper Award from the United Japanese researchers around the world

Cambridge → Boston → Cambridge again: I’m thrilled to return to Cambridge(UK) to open my lab at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge!🥳 (mzhulab.com) We study how dev timing shapes and being shaped by plasticity, evolution & ageing. 🚩Hiring at all levels: pls email me if interested!📩

On April 28, we will come together for the next #DGZ Focus Workshop on #cellpolarity & #cellmigration, organized by Virginie Lecaudey & Markus Engstler. Talks by @srishti-rangarajan.bsky.social, @rocha-lab.bsky.social, @marta-shahbazi.bsky.social, @xaviertrepat.bsky.social. Join us!

This is such a beautiful study! Is there a link between organelle positioning and stress responses? Keep reading to find out more…

Happy to share a new preprint from our lab, uncovering "spooky action at a distance" - for RNA Polymerase II: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I felt dizzy, heartbroken and angry reading this. A must read article for anybody interested in women's health, pregnancy, and labour.

Snake bites kill/debilitate 1000s of people annually in Sub-Saharan African. A new nanobody cocktail is shown to be highly effective against 17 of the most dangerous African snake species. Unlike other anti-venoms it also protects against venom-induced dermal necrosis🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Perutz Student Prize and the Joan Steitz Postdoc Prize: Claudia De Miguel, @lucaschwarz.bsky.social, Tom Dendooven, Sofia Lövestam, Katerina Naydenva & Tomke Stürner. Find out why they won here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2... #LMBNews 👏

I couldn’t be more proud of @lucaschwarz.bsky.social!! He has been awarded a Perutz Student prize for his work developing aneuploid models of the human placenta. www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...

A Nobel-winning scientist of great modesty and humour, John Gurdon died on 7 Oct. Not only did he make a discovery that laid the foundations for stem cell research, he also created one of the best environments for research at the Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute wellcome.org/news/sir-joh...

🎉 Happy Postdoc Appreciation Week! 🎉 As LMB Group Leaders @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social, @brfalcon.bsky.social & @marta-shahbazi.bsky.social attest, our postdocs are at the heart of our research community and shape everything we do. Thank you postdocs! #PostdocAppreciationWeek #PAW25

I could not have summarised our article better than @katherine-brown.bsky.social!! Please see below and keep reading if you are interested in human embryo research policy. It was such a pleasure to write this piece with Susana, Mina and Catello.

"With debate growing around whether the “14-day rule” on human embryo research remains fit for purpose, the need for inclusive public dialogue is more important than ever". www.nuffieldbioethics.org/news-blog/if...

🤩 Very excited to share our new work! We have derived euploid and aneuploid trophoblast organoids and extra-embryonic mesoderm cell lines from early human embryos. In doing so, we have characterised the tissue requirements for their specification. If you want to know more, continue reading….

I recently listened to a fantastic podcast on @radiolab.bsky.social about the lack of public engagement during the AIDS epidemic. Those affected felt unheard and abandoned. As scientists, we have a responsibility to engage with the public and hear their views.

Very cool finding! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

It's not clear what this means. So Nature Springer journals, including Nature and Scientific American, won't be available at the NIH? Is the next step to prohibit NIH staff from publishing in Nature? And you know the Nazis cancelled Nature too, right? www.axios.com/2025/06/25/t...

Beautiful!

Had so much fun the past few weeks playing around with human trophoblast stem cells and organoids in Cambridge! Thanks @marta-shahbazi.bsky.social for hosting me, @lucaschwarz.bsky.social for all his experimental wisdom, and everybody at @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social for making me feel at home!

Has April Fool’s day been moved to May???

Luca Schwarz from @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social presented his blastocyst-derived trophoblast organoid as an in vitro model of human placenta to investigate ExMe (extraembryonic mesenchyme)

Busy day for our lab! If you want to know more about our placental organoid work don’t miss @lucaschwarz.bsky.social’s talk at @yen-network.bsky.social. Miguel, a postdoc from the lab, will talk about his PhD work at @cammorphoseries.bsky.social and I will present at @brisunipress.bsky.social

Impressive work by @santoslab.bsky.social creating a 3D model of human amnion from hESCs! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A room with a view #GRC

Working hard with @mllthingsdna.bsky.social @katemiro.bsky.social @ms01.bsky.social and @vrendo.bsky.social @embo.org #ChromoPloidy25

If you are interested in IVF and human reproduction, don't miss this event to celebrate Bob Edwards' centenary: www.tickettailor.com/events/churc...

This is really cool! Linking transcriptomics and mechanics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We’re looking for a multi-skilled Fluidic Automation Bioengineer to join John O’Neill’s group in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, to develop novel platforms for drugging the circadian clock in cultured cells and tissues over many days. www.nature.com/naturecareer... Closes 24 APR #ScienceJobs

This is fantastic! There is light at the end of the tunnel

There’s still time to apply to the LMB’s Rising Talent Fellowship for Black heritage scientists. With this 3-year postdoc position we want to enable scientists of Black heritage to learn & grow their experience. Application deadline: 23 March More info: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/recruitment/...

We have to stand up for science! Anyone who can join these rallies and believes that US science must be defended should come! I’ll be there in DC - join me!

From the importance of mentorship to her love of martial arts, @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social, Group Leader in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, was recently profiled as a ‘Cell scientist to watch’ by @jcellsci.bsky.social Full interview here: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... #LMBintheNews

Very sorry to hear of the passing of Roger Pedersen. He was an outstanding developmental and stem cell biologist & helped to establish the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Our thoughts are with his family. obgyn.stanford.edu/in-the-news/...

Big news - I'm going to be moving to a new position at The Company of Biologists, working across all our journals. This means my job is up for grabs! If you're an experienced editor with a love of developmental biology and its community, this could be the role for you. Full details in the link.

Whenever you hear someone sneer about scientific research that seems useless to them — “they’re studying the spit of lizards?!” — remind them that’s exactly how we got Ozempic. globalnews.ca/news/9793403...

Join our Structural Studies Division, leading a research group developing computational methods to address questions in molecular & cellular biology! You will be supported by core funding, excellent facilities & enthusiastic colleagues. Apply by 18 MAR www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Congratulations @lara-kruger.bsky.social Can’t wait to see the exciting science that will come from your lab

Registration open for this year's Young Embryologist Network meeting 19 May, The Francis Crick Institute, London thenode.biologists.com/yen-2025-con...

On World Cancer Day I celebrate scientific progress, which has saved my mother’s life twice. A special thought for all of those that didn’t make it (in my heart are my grandma and my aunt).

Today, at 2:30 pm (UK time), @marta-shahbazi.bsky.social will kick off the new Cambridge Morphogenesis Seminar Series term! Her talk will be about the morphogenetic control of cellular differentiation during gastrulation. Please subscribe to our mailing list for access to the Zoom link.

So useful for the field!

The Cambridge Morphogenesis Seminar is back! We assembled an amazing lineup for you, kicking off the new term of the seminar series with a talk by @marta-shahbazi.bsky.social on the 27th of January, 2:30 pm (UK time). We are looking forward to seeing you all!

This is a fantastic initiative! Thanks for helping mother scientists

Merry Christmas from the Shahbazi lab! Let's hope that next year, peace, scientific knowledge, diversity, and humanity will be core values of our society. We can only lead by example!

I have received 5 invitations to review papers during the past 48 hours. I understand authors want to finish their manuscripts before they go on holidays, but reviewers also need a break

🎉 Excited to announce job openings in our new lab @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social in Tübingen!🇩🇪Looking for enthusiastic colleagues to explore regeneration together! We have positions for: 🔬 Research Technician 💻 Bioinformatician 🎓 PhD Studentship 🧪🔬📖 Postdocs Details and links below👇

@theguardian.com please fix this inaccurate headline ASAP: 25pc of all births were *planned* sections. The total proportion of sections (including planned and unplanned) is closer to 40pc. The header and the article are both misleading. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

A potential new mRNA-based therapy for pre-eclampsia is demonstrated in a mouse study published in Nature. The method involves targeted delivery of mRNA to the placenta to restore normal maternal blood pressure and improve foetal health. 🧪

On my way to the EMBL PhD symposium. Really excited about the topic Biology outside the box! However, I will miss my daughter’s Christmas play. That’s the reality of a mother scientist. Sometimes you sacrifice family, sometimes you sacrifice science, and hopefully you get the balance right