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Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz Group

Mammalian Embryo and Stem Cell Groups | Cambridge and Caltech

Congratulations to Magda for receiving the 2022 Edwin G. Conklin Medal by the Society for Developmental Biology. Established in 1995, the Edwin G. Conklin Medal in Developmental Biology recognizes a developmental biologist who has made and is continuing to make extraordinary research contributions to the field, and is an excellent mentor who has helped train the next generation of outstanding scientists.

“I am deeply honoured to be chosen to deserve Conklin Medal this year for our pioneering work on mouse and human embryos and on building their models from different stem cell types.

Special thanks to my amazing team of brilliant and diverse scientists at Cambridge and at Caltech. I describe our journey in my scientific biography The Dance of Life, recently published by Penguin Random House.”

  • Self-organization of stem cells into embryos: A window on early mammalian development. Science (2019).
  • Celebrating women in science: a new profile of the work in our lab examines our attempts to solve the mysteries of the embryo. Written by Marissa Fessenden. Illustration by Zoe Van Dijk.
  • Pluripotent state transitions coordinate morphogenesis in mouse and human embryos. Nature (2017).
  • Self-assembly of embryonic and two extra-embryonic stem cell types into gastrulating embryo-like structures. Nat Cell Biol. (2018).
  • Pluripotent state transitions coordinate morphogenesis in mouse and human embryos. Nature. (2017).
  • Self-organization of stem cells into embryos: A window on early mammalian development. Science (2019).
  • Inducible Stem-Cell-Derived Embryos Capture Mouse Morphogenetic Events In Vitro. Dev Cell. (2021).
  • Morphogenesis of extra-embryonic tissues directs the remodelling of the mouse embryo at implantation. Nat Commun (2019).
  • Self-Organization of Mouse Stem Cells into an Extended Potential Blastoid. Dev Cell (2019).
  • Autophagy-mediated apoptosis eliminates aneuploid cells in a mouse model of chromosome mosaicism. Nat Commun (2020).
  • Developmental clock and mechanism of de novo polarization of the mouse embryo. Science (2020).
  • Embryo Size Regulates the Timing and Mechanism of Pluripotent Tissue Morphogenesis. Stem Cell Reports (2021).
  • Trophectoderm mechanics direct epiblast shape upon embryo implantation. Cell Rep. (2021).
  • Unifying synthetic embryology. Dev Biol (2021).
  • Sequential formation and resolution of multiple rosettes drive embryo remodelling after implantation. Nat Cell Biol (2018).
  • In vitro generation of mouse polarized embryo-like structures from embryonic and trophoblast stem cell. Nat Protoc. (2018).
  • Integrin β1 coordinates survival and morphogenesis of the embryonic lineage upon implantation and pluripotency transition. Cell Rep. (2021).
  • CARM1 and Paraspeckles Regulate Pre-implantation Mouse Embryo Development. Cell (2018).
  • Deconstructing and reconstructing the mouse and human early embryo. Nat Cell Biol (2018).
  • Basement membrane remodeling regulates mouse embryogenesis. Nature (2020).
  • Actomyosin polarisation through PLC-PKC triggers symmetry breaking of the mouse embryo. Nat Commun. (2017).
  • Principles of self organization of the mammalian embryo. Cell. (2020).
  • A single cell characterisation of human embryogenesis identifies pluripotency transitions and putative anterior hypoblast centre. Nat Commun. (2021).
  • Congratulations to Prof. Zernicka-Goetz for receiving the 2022 Edwin G. Conklin Medal by the Society for Developmental Biology.
  • Stem cell-derived synthetic embryos self-assemble by exploiting cadherin codes and cortical tension (2022)
  • Mouse embryo model derived exclusively from embryonic stem cells undergoes neurulation and heart development (2022)

Meet the Lab

  • Victoria Jorgensen
    PhD Student, Caltech
  • Bailey Weatherbee
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Carlos Ganter
    Post-doc, Cambridge
  • Dong-Yuan Chen
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Hannah Greenfeld
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
    Principle Investigator
  • Melissa Truong
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Gianluca Amadei
    Post-doc, Cambridge
  • Joey Kalappurakkal
    Post-doc, Cambridge
  • Min Bao
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Lisa-Iwatmoto Stohl
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Dilan Gokyer
    Research Associate / Senior Lab Technician, Cambridge
  • Adiyant Lamba
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Jamie Stover
    Research Assistant, Caltech
  • Maciej Meglicki
    Lab Manager, Cambridge
  • Kasey Y.C. Lau
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Antonia Weberling
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Kate Cavanaugh
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Clare Reynell
    Lab Manager, Caltech
  • Charlotte Handford
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Estefania Sanchez-Vasquez
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Kirsty Mackinlay
    PhD Student, Cambridge
  • Paolo Caldarelli
    Post-doc, Caltech
  • Lakshmi Balasubramaniam
    Post-doc, Cambridge
  • Sergi Junyent Espinosa
    Post-doc, Caltech

The Dance of Life

The Dance of Life will take you inside the incredible world of life just as it begins. It reveals the wonder of the earliest and most profound moments of early life; how we become human. Through Magda’s trailblazing research as a professor at Cambridge, you’ll learn how early life starts to take shape and discover the true beauty of life’s beginnings – Penguin Random House LLC.


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