Aissam Ikmi

Our study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org

The first preprint from my PhD is out! :thread: How does an animal choose between two completely different reproductive fates? Here’s how one planarian does it :point_down: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Double preprint! 👇 Check out our latest studies on timing, heterogeneity and collective behaviour (with a fun tiny bonus on evolution!) 1. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 2. arxiv.org/abs/2605.13234

First pre-print from the lab, a collaborative effort led by Jess Bourn @bournsupremacy.bsky.social, a fantastic PhD in my group. We resolve a key problem in development + evolution: how do we quantify heterochrony and link temporal variation to phenotype? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Hi Cnidarian Enthusiasts! Friendly reminder that Cnidofest 2026 will take place at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, September 23-27. The abstract submission deadline is July 1 and the registration deadline is September 2. Submit and find full details at www.cnidofest.org

How ancient are the building blocks of animal sensory systems? Key components of animal sensory systems evolved before animals. We find that choanoflagellates possess diverse & spatially segregated TRP channels, pointing to ancient origins of sensory specialization. doi.org/10.64898/202...

A fossil nervous system meets modern neurobiology. We found that a living comb jelly preserves neural architecture remarkably similar to those inferred from Cambrian fossils over 500 million years old 🤩. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Glad to see this out in its final form! www.nature.com/articles/s41... What changed since the preprint? Wonderful experiments disentangling the effect of receptor binding vs tissue porosity on Nodal diffusion, plus one of the smoothest review experiences! Thanks @natcellbio.nature.com & reviewers 🙏

Really happy to share my PhD story about the regulation of developmental speed in the Drosophila eye 🪰😃👀, which is now published @embojournal.org: link.springer.com/article/10.1... Grateful to everyone who make this possible, particularly F. Schweisguth @pasteur.fr @devstempasteur.bsky.social

21st century dev bio at its best! I can't help but point out that not one but two Bruker microscopes (Acquifer IM, MuVi) were used for gentle&long term time lapse imaging of developing Nematostella here. No need to mount your invertebrate (cnidaria, planaria, crustaceans), we can do the time lapse!

Now published. Congrats to Soham and all co-authors! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... @embl.org

Congratulations Guillaume #Salbreux and collaborator @aikmi.bsky.social groups for your latest publication in @cellcellpress.bsky.social: Deciphering #mechanical determinants of morphological #evolution @genevunige.bsky.social @sciencesunige.bsky.social #UNIGE 👉 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A press release on our latest work on shape diversity in cnidarians. @embl.org

Hello epithelia enthusiasts! I’m @inesfournon.bsky.social and I study epithelial mechanics in sea anemones 🪼 Did you know epithelial cell extrusion had never been described outside bilaterian animals before? Well… not anymore 👀 Read ⬇️🧵1/9

How do #sponges coordinate their bodies despite lacking neurons and true muscles? We show that sponges use monoamines to control water flow in their canals — reminiscent of how adrenaline regulates blood vessels. My PhD story, now on BioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #Evolution

Expansion microscopy of a loricate choanoflagellate, generated by Mylan Ansel in our lab 🤩 (yes, the lorica expands. No, we don't understand how either)

We’re looking for a new team member! 🚀 Only 3 more weeks to apply to the fantastic Vienna BioCenter PhD program

🔥Exciting new paper from the Ikmi group @embl.org! The authors identified a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that can be used to predict species-specific shapes by combining a comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis with active surface theory #morphogenesis #cnidaria

Now online! Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

Amazing to see this study finally out! Proud to have contributed to the active surface modelling of cnidaria morphogenesis across species and huge congrats to Richard, Nicolas, and all authors! #morphogenesis #activematter #nematicorder #evolution

New Preprint! When one enhancer allele changes another's regulatory output, is that bad? We found it could be a feature — interallelic cis-regulatory dominance buffers outputs AND enables evolutionary innovation. Two for one! Led by @ottilie.bsky.social from @embl.org doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...

Our paper on the role of neurons in Nematostella head regeneration is now out at @currentbiology.bsky.social Big thank you to all collaborators, it was a pleasure! Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Only a few days left for abstract submission at the brand new EMBO|EMBL Symposium Collectivity in living systems: emergence, function and evolution. We have stellar speakers in cell, animal collectives & beyond @priscaliberali.bsky.social @icouzin.bsky.social @ricardsole.bsky.social Join us!

Our Special Issue on Lifelong Development #LifelongDevSI is now complete! Guest edited by Meri Huch and Mansi Srivastava, it contains 26 research and review-type articles. On the cover: the dorsal vasculature of an adult zebrafish's first gill arch. See Preußner et al. doi.org/10.1242/dev....

Also in #LifelongDevSI : ▪️Editorial ▪️Hypothesis on phenotypic plasticity ▪️2 interviews with our guest editors ▪️3 Reviews ▪️17 Research Articles and Reports ▪️3 Techniques and Resources Full table of content: journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...

Great having you at @embl.org, Michel! Inspiring science, great discussions, and a fantastic perspective on quantitative evo-devo.

Had the pleasure of working with @mohannad-dardiry.bsky.social to rethink what it means to develop for life. Many thanks to @dev-journal.bsky.social! @embl.org #LifelongDevSI

Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports... This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵

Finally, the excellent postdoc work of Emmanuel Haillot is out, where he dissected the integration of Wnt, MAPK and Notch signaling in defining mesoderm and endoderm identities in the diploblast Nematostella. Strikingly similar to sea urchins. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Want to help us image and understand those incredible samples Felix just collected at UBC - and many more? 2 more days to apply! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j... #ExM #PlanetaryCellBiology 🧪🧬🔬🌍🌱🦠

Want to acquire #ExM images like this and help us understand the true extent of cytoskeletal diversity across the tree of life? This position might be for you! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j... With @dudinlab.bsky.social @embl.org @biology-unige.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social

Latest paper elifesciences.org/articles/107... closes an important cycle in our efforts to study regeneration: week-long recordings allow us to observe the behaviour of cells during the entire course of regeneration in a crustacean leg – bright objects in movie are fluorescent nuclei of cells. 1/6

drive.google.com/file/d/1CLIx...

Ctenophores possess a unique aboral organ that acts as a multisensory center, controlling complex behaviors. We’ve now created a ctenophore model integrated with our 3D volume EM data. Puts it into perspective. Check out our recent work here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ctenophores #volumeEM

our unexpected results on the importance of a neural cell adhesion molecule in sea anemone epithelialization and gastrulation are just posted in the following preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Here our latest work on how morphogens trigger tissue phase transitions to tune their own length-scales and time-scales - An exciting collaboration with @zhvas.bsky.social @dianakhorom.bsky.social Bernat Corominas-Murtra and heroic experiments by the incredible @cami-autorino.bsky.social @embl.org

The last part of @paulknabl.bsky.social 's PhD is now available at www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Paul showed that BMP signaling is active in the diffuse nervous system of the sea anemone Nematostella and the box jellyfish Tripedalia. Moreover, suppression of BMP signaling in Nematostella leads...

We thought we were just studying mesoglea biogenesis…Turns out Nematostella has been hiding a sophisticated backup pressure valve! Work driven by the talented PhD student Soham Basu! @embl.org‬ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

EMBL scientists have used sea anemones to study how animals restore their shape following major injuries. The results show how, in regenerating animals, systemic molecular and cellular changes help in regaining the original shape. 🪄 www.embl.org/news/science... 🧪 #MolBiol