Constructing connective tissues across scales

Date

May 21, 2026

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Jacqueline Tabler

Affiliation

Max Planck Institute of Cell Biology and Genetics

Series

MPI-CBG Thursday Seminar

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Host

Stephan Grill

Description

Mesenchymal tissues construct the physical architecture of the developing skull through dynamic interactions between cells and extracellular matrix. Our work investigates how extracellular matrix organization and mechanics regulate mesenchymal cell fate decisions during cranial morphogenesis, and how disruption of these processes may contribute to connective tissue pathology. Using embryonic perturbation models, quantitative tissue imaging, and single-cell approaches, we show that altered matrix crosslinking changes the tempo and spatial organization of connective tissue specialization within the developing skull cap. These findings suggest that connective tissue disease may emerge not only from defects in structural molecules themselves, but from altered developmental states that reshape how cells interpret and build their extracellular environments across scales.

Last modified: May 21, 2026, 7:36:57 AM