Giovanna Collu, Ph.D.
Researcher, Marek Mlodzik Lab
Icahn School of Medicine
Mount Sinai, New York City
Giovanna Collu is currently research faculty at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Giovanna found her love of developmental biology as an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, UK, studying spermatogenesis in the fruit fly. In 2002 she moved to the University of Manchester, UK, for a Masters and then PhD in cell signalling and developmental biology. She used cell culture models to identify points of crosstalk between the Wnt and Notch pathways, and studied how dysregulation of either pathway could lead to mammary gland tumours in mice and breast cancer in people. In 2012, Giovanna moved to the US and brought her previous research areas together to study Notch and Wnt signalling during fly development. Research projects have included how Notch and Wnt/planar cell polarity signalling regulate cell fate decisions in the fly eye, as well as identifying novel regulators of each pathway. Recent work has expanded into EGFR/Ras signalling and consequences of Ras pathway hyperactivation in drug resistant cancer cell lines and inherited developmental syndromes. Giovanna is an active member of the wider research community and has given talks on professional development topics for early career researchers, the importance of inclusion in diversity efforts, and has mentored several school students in the lab. Giovanna looks forward to learning about many interesting Czech research projects and exploring the beautiful city of Prague.
– The beauty of seeing the real thing: BMP heterodimer detection in vivo reveals dimer composition and activity (April, 2023)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2023.03.022
-Prickle is phosphorylated by Nemo and targeted for degradation to maintain Prickle/Spiny-legs isoform balance during planar cell polarity establishment (May, 2018)
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1007391
Website: mlodziklab
Twitter: @Fruitflyfriend
Dr. Emmanuel Derivery, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Dr. Emmanuel Derivery is a prominent scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), specializing in asymmetric cell division. With a background in Molecular and Cell Biology, he earned his Ph.D. from the Curie Institute and the University Paris-Sud in France before joining LMB. Driven by a long-standing interest in the field, he established his own lab, focusing on unraveling the molecular and physical mechanisms underlying asymmetric cell fate determination during division.
His research revolves around understanding how polarity signals are written onto the mother cell’s cytoskeleton and interpreted by molecular motors, ensuring the unequal distribution of cell fate determinants to the daughter cells. Dr. Derivery utilizes advanced imaging techniques and in vitro reconstitution with purified proteins to investigate these mechanisms. He sees fruit flies as valuable models for studying biological questions at multiple scales, ranging from atomic structures to whole-animal development.
Moreover, Dr. Derivery‘s pluridisciplinary approach extends to developing novel imaging and bioengineering tools. For instance, his lab has pioneered techniques to induce polarity in unpolarized cells, leveraging micropatterning and protein design. This breakthrough allows them to explore the molecular mechanisms behind cytoskeleton symmetry breaking.
His ultimate vision is to apply his findings in Drosophila to restore asymmetric cell fate in mammalian stem cells, addressing challenges related to aging and tumorigenesis. Dr. Derivery‘s innovative approach and interdisciplinary research efforts have positioned him as a prominent scientist in the field. His work at the LMB provides a unique platform for addressing fundamental biological questions and has the potential to impact therapeutic interventions in various contexts.
– Structure of the Commander endosomal trafficking complex linked to X-linked intellectual disability/Ritscher-Schinzel syndrome
Cell, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.04.003
– Elongator stabilizes microtubules to control central spindle asymmetry and polarized trafficking of cell fate determinants
Nat Cell Biol., https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-022-01020-9
Website: Emmanuel-derivery/Lab
Twitter: DeriveryLab