School of Biomedical Sciences cordially invites you to join the following seminar:

Speaker: Dr. Tiago Rito, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
Talk Title: Synthetic human tissue design: tuning axial progenitors to make the human backbone

Date: 19 February 2025 (Wednesday)
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Venue: Seminar Room 3, G/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road
Host: Professor Michael Hӓusser

Biography

Tiago is a postdoctoral fellow in James Briscoe's lab and an interdisciplinary scientist with a diverse academic background. After earning a PhD in Statistics and Systems Biology at Oxford, he developed computational tools to map chromatin dynamics during cell differentiation with Prof. Ana Pombo in Berlin. He then transitioned to wet-lab research in the Brivanlou lab at the Rockefeller University in New York, where he focused on human tissue biology and stem cell models of early human development.

In this talk, he will share his insights on engineering endogenous signaling centers in stem cell models of trunk development.

Abstract

The vertebrate body forms through the coordinated activity of multiple progenitor pools that can be replicated in vitro. However, current stem cell models of trunk development still lack key features, such as the notochord, essential for signaling and tissue patterning.

Using single-cell transcriptomics in chicken embryos, we spatially mapped progenitor populations and applied these insights to human pluripotent stem cells. By precisely timing key signaling pathways, we created a 3D model of human trunk development that includes a notochord alongside neural and somitic tissues. This improved model offers new insights into notochord formation and tissue patterning in a more realistic tissue environment.

ALL ARE WELCOME.