Luca Guglielmi, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

From genes to shape: unfolding embryo morphogenesis across scales

During embryogenesis, cells organize across scales to generate the complex three-dimensional (3D) architectures of tissues and organs. To understand how these processes are regulated is crucial to interpret and ameliorate developmental disorders. In this talk I will present my latest work, in which I have uncovered the essential role of the TGF-β family effector SMAD4 in controlling cell fate specification and morphogenesis in the vertebrate embryo. This was achieved using a combination of genome editing, transcriptomics, live imaging and 3D embryo morphometry. Moreover, I will provide examples on how multi-scale approaches can be efficiently translated to unveil complex mechanisms underlaying brain morphogenesis and tackle the cause of severe neurodevelopmental disorders.

Info:
cibio.events [at] unitn.it