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Heisenberg Group

Morphogenesis in Development

The most elaborate shapes of multicellular organisms – the elephant’s trunk, the orchid blossom, the lobster’s claw – all start off from a simple bunch of cells. This transformation of a seemingly unstructured cluster of cells into highly elaborate shapes is a common and fundamental principle in cell and developmental biology and the focus of the Heisenberg group’s work.

To gain insights into critical processes by which the developing organism takes shape, the Heisenberg group focuses on gastrulation in zebrafish and ascidians, a highly conserved process in which a seemingly unstructured blastula is transformed into an organized embryo. The group has chosen a transdisciplinary approach, employing a combination of genetic, cell biological, biochemical, and biophysical tools. Using these tools, the group is addressing how the interplay between the physical processes driving cell and tissue morphogenesis and the gene regulatory pathways determining cell fate specification control gastrulation. Insights derived from this work may ultimately have implications for the study of wound healing and cancer biology, as immune and cancer cells share many morphogenetic properties of embryonic cells.


On this site:


Team

Image of Feyza Arslan

Feyza Arslan

Postdoc

Image of Madison Bolger-Munro

Madison Bolger-Munro

Postdoc

Image of Lia Heinemann Yerushalmi

Lia Heinemann Yerushalmi

Postdoc


Image of Naoya Hino

Naoya Hino

Postdoc

Image of Laura Hofmann

Laura Hofmann

PhD Student

Image of Michaela Jovic

Michaela Jovic

PhD Student


Image of Tushna Kapoor

Tushna Kapoor

Postdoc

Image of Nikhil Mishra

Nikhil Mishra

Postdoc

Image of Suyash Naik

Suyash Naik

PhD Student


Image of Kornelija Pranjic-Ferscha

Kornelija Pranjic-Ferscha

Research Technician

Image of Carolina Santos Fernandes Lasbarrères Camelo

Carolina Santos Fernandes Lasbarrères Camelo

Postdoc

Image of Alexandra Schauer

Alexandra Schauer

PhD Student


Image of Gayathri Singaraju

Gayathri Singaraju

Postdoc

Image of Irene Steccari

Irene Steccari

Research Technician

+43 22 439000 7452

Image of Ste Tavano

Ste Tavano

Postdoc


Image of Xin Tong

Xin Tong

PhD Student


Current Projects

Cell adhesion | Actomyosin contraction | Cell and tissue morphogenesis | Cell polarization and migration


Publications

Assen FP, Abe J, Hons M, Hauschild R, Shamipour S, Kaufmann W, Costanzo T, Krens G, Brown M, Ludewig B, Hippenmeyer S, Heisenberg C-PJ, Weninger W, Hannezo EB, Luther SA, Stein JV, Sixt MK. 2022. Multitier mechanics control stromal adaptations in swelling lymph nodes. Nature Immunology. View

Hannezo EB, Heisenberg C-PJ. 2022. Rigidity transitions in development and disease. Trends in Cell Biology. 32(5), P433-444. View

Slovakova J, Sikora MK, Arslan FN, Caballero Mancebo S, Krens G, Kaufmann W, Merrin J, Heisenberg C-PJ. 2022. Tension-dependent stabilization of E-cadherin limits cell-cell contact expansion in zebrafish germ-layer progenitor cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 119(8), e2122030119. View

Godard BG, Dumollard R, Heisenberg C-PJ, Mcdougall A. 2021. Combined effect of cell geometry and polarity domains determines the orientation of unequal division. eLife. 10, e75639. View

Heisenberg C-PJ, Lennon AM, Mayor R, Salbreux G. 2021. Special rebranding issue: “Quantitative cell and developmental biology”. Cells and Development. 168(12), 203758. View

View All Publications

ReX-Link: Carl-Philipp Heisenberg


Career

since 2010 Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
2001 – 2010 Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
1997 – 2000 Postdoc, University College London, UK
1996 PhD, Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany


Selected Distinctions


2019 Carus Medal, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
2017 ERC Advanced Grant
2017 Lower Austrian Science Award
2015 Member, EMBO
2015 Member, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
2000 Emmy Noether Junior Professorship


Additional Information

Download CV
Open group website



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