Felix Gunawan (he/him) 🇨🇦🇩🇪🏳️‍🌈

lnkd.inWe’re proud to celebrate the 2026/27 Heart & Stroke research award recipients and the important work they’re undertaking to advance heart and brain health in Canada. Through our research funding…...We’re proud to celebrate the 2026/27 Heart & Stroke research award recipients and the important work they’re undertaking to advance heart and brain health in Canada. Through our research funding prog...

I'm delighted to share that I've received a New Investigator Award from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada! @heartandstroke.bsky.social #ResearchFunding #BasicScience #CardiovascularResearch #DevelopmentalBiology #StemCellBiology @utoronto.ca @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social

3/ The award will support our work into how genetics, cellular behaviours, & biomechanical forces interact in heart valve development & how their disruptions contribute to valve disease. We’ll also study how these factors regulate blood stem cell formation & contribute to cardiovascular disorders.

4/ I'm grateful for this award & excited to continue advancing our research into fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular development & stem cell biology, together w/the talented trainees & collaborators who make this work possible. Thanks @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social for the continuous support!

2/ My sincere thanks to Heart & Stroke for strongly supporting fundamental research & investing in early-career researchers.

nature.comA scientist can come from anywhere - Nature Cell BiologyThis June, we celebrate Pride by discussing with Felix Gunawan, assistant professor at the University of Toronto and co-affiliate group leader at the University of Münster, about his personal and acad...

In time for Pride Month! In a Q&A with @slefkopoulos.bsky.social and @natcellbio.nature.com, I had the privilege of sharing my personal journey as an LGBTQIA+ immigrant from Indonesia to Canada and Germany. #PrideinSTEM (a mini thread) Link to read (pdf): rdcu.be/fnXyK

(4/5) My scientific path is a testament to what can happen when people are given the chance to learn, grow, and belong. Science has always been an international endeavor, strengthened by the exchange of ideas across borders and by researchers with diverse lived experiences.

(5/5) Representation matters. Seeing people from different backgrounds succeed helps others imagine that they, too, have a place in science. I am very grateful to Stelios and to NCB for the opportunity to speak up and share my story.

(2/5) I reflected on the educational and scientific opportunities that came with moving to Toronto, the unexpected path that led me to become an academic researcher, and the training and mentorship I was fortunate to receive along the way.

(3/5) I hope to contribute my voice to conversations about opportunity, equality, and diversity in science. This is particularly important at a time when many institutions and governments are rolling back protections and opportunities, particularly for LGBTQIA+ people and immigrants.

18 Mar

Fantastic talks and chats at the #GfE2026 #GfESEBDDSDB2026! with @gfeev.bsky.social @sebioldev.bsky.social #DSDB Thanks to the organizers for giving Newsha Mortazavi a chance to share her cool work. Congrats to @amulyavhejjaji.bsky.social for winning Best Poster Prize. So proud of both students!

nature.comMechanical confinement governs phenotypic plasticity in melanoma - NatureMechanical confinement of cancer cells at the tumour–microenvironment interface induces phenotype switching through chromatin remodelling by HMGB2, leading to a more invasive and drug-resistant state ...

28 Aug 2025

Congratulations Miranda, outstanding work!

Miranda Hunter@mrndhntr.bsky.social

My recent postdoctoral work is out today in @nature.com! We found that physical confinement makes melanoma cells more invasive and drug tolerant. Thanks to all who made this work possible @whitefishlab.bsky.social @mskcancercenter.bsky.social #NIH #NCI www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Felix Gunawan (he/him) 🇨🇦🇩🇪🏳️‍🌈 reposted

Erez Raz

@erezraz.bsky.social

20 Aug 2025

A new paper from the lab is out- www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... A great collaboration between our lab in Muenster (Led by Dennis Hoffmann), Nir Gov (Weizmann/University of Cambridge), Ben Simons (University of Cambridge) and Tal Agranov (University of Cambridge).

sciencedirect.comCorrections in single-cell migration path in vivo are controlled by pulses in polar Rac1 activationDirected migration of single cells is central to a large number of processes in development and adult life. Corrections to the migration path of cells…

Felix Gunawan (he/him) 🇨🇦🇩🇪🏳️‍🌈 reposted

Nature Cell Biology

@natcellbio.nature.com

14 July 2025

🏳️‍🌈Our editor @slefkopoulos.bsky.social discussed with @jzylicz.bsky.social about the importance of celebrating Pride, representation in science, and more! Happy Pride! Read here: rdcu.be/ewfba bit.ly/3Uc72TO

bit.lyComing out is not a one-time event - Nature Cell BiologyJune is the month celebrating Pride in the USA and other countries around the world to honour the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, as well as all progress and current strives claiming equal justice for mem...

11 July 2025

Excited to share our latest review on biomechanical forces shape endothelial plasticity and morphogenesis! We delve into dynamic feedback between mechanical cues & molecular pathways that drive two key processes: endothelial-to-hematopoietic & -mesenchymal transition. doi.org/10.1016/j.se...

11 July 2025

Massive credit to co-first authors @dorotheeb.bsky.social and Newsha M. for insightful discussions and writing to shape the review!

1/6 Thrilled to share that I have joined the Department of Cell & Systems Biology at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor! Grateful for the journey so far and incredibly excited for what’s ahead at @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social @utoronto.ca‬. csb.utoronto.ca/faculty/feli...

5/6 None of this would have been possible without my incredible team whose talent, passion and dedication have driven our discoveries forward! It’s been a privilege to turn our bold ideas into meaningful advances together @dorotheeb.bsky.social‬ @amulyavhejjaji.bsky.social Newsha M.

6/6 Finally, if you are/know someone interested in graduate opportunities in an exciting department & a vibrant, multicultural city, and passionate about science, reach out! We will be recruiting for the 2026 grad student cycle at U of T to study cardiovascular morphogenesis and fate determination!

3/6 Building on the momentum of our work in Münster, we aim to further uncover how the heart and the vasculature take shape—probing how dynamic forces from the extracellular matrix and blood flow influence cardiovascular cell fate and tissue morphogenesis.

4/6 So many have contributed to this journey so far, and I want to thank the instrumental support from my mentors during my postdoc Didier ‪@stainierlab.bsky.social‬ and junior group leader phases Erez ‪@erezraz.bsky.social‬.