How does an embryo develop from a single cell into a fully formed animal? How does it differentiate top from bottom, and left from right? How do millions of cells find their precise location in the body? In this special KITP seminar series, we are looking to bring a new quantitative perspective to the study of morphogenesis, and to ground biological observations with theoretical concepts from continuum mechanics, non-linear dynamics, and statistical physics. Our aim is to bring together developmental biologists and theoretical physicists to clarify the path towards a unified theory of morphogenesis.

All talks to be held Wednesday at 8 AM California Local Time (UTC - 8 until March 14, then UTC - 7).

Click apply to register for the zoom sessions. 

January 20 - "First a war then a dance: How sensory organs take shape," Anna Erzberger (EMBL, Heidelberg)

February 17 - "Coordinating tissue polarity and morphogenesis across biological scales," Danelle Devenport (Princeton)

March 24 - "Decoding positional information in the developing fly embryo," Mariela Petkova (Harvard)

April 21 - "A growing leaf as a sheet of an active solid," Eran Sharon (Hebrew U.)

May 19 - "Morphogenesis on the Nanoscale: Structural Coloration in Butterflies," Nipam Patel (MBL, U. Chicago)

June 16 - "Ancient origins of animal metamerism: HOX-dependent tissue segmentation in the sea anemone Nematostella," Matthew C. Gibson (Stowers Institute)

July 14 - "Many ways to build a tree: lessons in branching morphogenesis," Celeste Nelson (Princeton) 

Aug 25- James Sharpe, EMBL Barcelona: "On Growth and Form: morphogenesis of the mouse limb bud"

Sep 22 - Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, IST Austria: "Cell and tissue mechanics in zebrafish gastrulation”

Oct 20 - Sigolène Meilhac, Institut Pasteur, France: "Shaping the heart tube to establish a double flow"

November 10 - John Wallingford, University of Texas at Austin: "Body Sculpting: How the vertebrate embryo constructs itself"