The nervous system of bilaterian animals is largely bilaterally symmetric. However, some left-right asymmetries exist at the anatomical, molecular and functional levels. One particularly interesting
During development, cells shape epithelial tissues into distinct 3D structures with specialized molecular and mechanical regions. The vertebrate heart tube, for instance, extends by adding
During my PhD thesis, I explored the role of cell mechanics in the development and maintenance of the small intestinal epithelium. I focused on two
In the brain, neurons communicate through synapses. In response to various stimuli, synapses undergo diverse forms of plasticity, leading to the remodelling of synapses and
Nerve-tumor interactions are receiving increasing attention due to the recently identified role of the nervous system in regulating cancer initiation and progression. In pancreatic ductal
Actin is a cytoskeletal protein that is conserved in all eukaryotes. Its polymerization reaction enables cells to exert forces that are useful for many cellular
Skeletal muscles of the head and trunk arise from distinct lineages with different upstream regulatory programs converging on activation of myogenic determination factors of the
The peripheral nervous system has emerged as a key regulator of cancer progression. In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous
Morphogenesis is an intricate process where epithelial cells reorganize themselves to form differentiated, three-dimensional tissues and organs. These cell shape changes are driven by the
