2014:
PhD, Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2023-2028:
Lumina Quaeruntur, Czech Academy of Sciences
2016-2018:
EMBO Long Term Fellowship
2015-2016:
Rubicon fellowship, Dutch Research Council (NWO)
Formin-dependent active torque generation drives left-right patterning
By combining quantitative experiments with biophysical models, we have shown that the F-actin elongator Formin facilitates molecular-scale torque generation in early C. elegans embryos. In turn, this drives organismal left-right symmetry breaking. [pubmed] [doi]
Lineage-specific chiral actomyosin flows position embryonic cells
We have found that, in a subset of cells in early C. elegans embryos, the actomyosin cortex displays chiral counter-rotations. These chiral counter-rotations reposition cells relative to each other, which is essential for normal development. [pubmed] [doi]
The dorsoventral body axis aligns with embryo geometry
By performing mechanical and genetic perturbations on early C. elegans embryos, we have shown that actomyosin-dependent force generation aligns the dorsoventral axis with embryo geometry.