James Briscoe
@jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
Developmental Biologist working at the Francis Crick Institute. Neural tube, morphogens, and gene regulatory networks. Editor-in-chief, Development.
London · briscoelab.org
London · briscoelab.org
Pinned
James Briscoe
@jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
· Oct 27
Our latest: *Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding*
For a summary & the digested highlights see thread🧵 from @giulia-boezio.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
For a summary & the digested highlights see thread🧵 from @giulia-boezio.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by James Briscoe
We believe that, as our future leaders in biology, it is vital to provide #ECRs with the right support during the early stages of your academic career. We offer a number of practical ways to help you meet the unique needs and challenges you may encounter: www.biologists.com/about-us/ear...
Supporting early-career researchers
On these pages we highlight the range of resources that we offer to early-career researchers.
www.biologists.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM
We believe that, as our future leaders in biology, it is vital to provide #ECRs with the right support during the early stages of your academic career. We offer a number of practical ways to help you meet the unique needs and challenges you may encounter: www.biologists.com/about-us/ear...
Reposted by James Briscoe
What's it like being Editor-in-chief of @jcellsci.bsky.social? doi.org/10.1242/jcs....
At the helm of JCS – Editors-in-Chief past, present… and future
The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of Journal of Cell Science plays a key role in defining the overall vision of the journal, helping to decide on journal strategy, policy and priorities, and overseeing all co...
doi.org
December 22, 2025 at 10:33 AM
What's it like being Editor-in-chief of @jcellsci.bsky.social? doi.org/10.1242/jcs....
Delighted & honoured to have given the Jean Brachet Memorial Lecture for the International Society for Differentiation
Thanks to the Indian SDB for hosting and to Sally Dunwoodie for the generous introduction.
Thanks to the Indian SDB for hosting and to Sally Dunwoodie for the generous introduction.
December 18, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Delighted & honoured to have given the Jean Brachet Memorial Lecture for the International Society for Differentiation
Thanks to the Indian SDB for hosting and to Sally Dunwoodie for the generous introduction.
Thanks to the Indian SDB for hosting and to Sally Dunwoodie for the generous introduction.
Reposted by James Briscoe
And here is the PDF of the 4th course @college-de-france.fr. You will find the justification and presentation of geometric representation of cell decisions, a parsimonious mathematical model for signalling and cell state transitions
tinyurl.com/yc7u296j
tinyurl.com/yc7u296j
December 16, 2025 at 9:57 AM
And here is the PDF of the 4th course @college-de-france.fr. You will find the justification and presentation of geometric representation of cell decisions, a parsimonious mathematical model for signalling and cell state transitions
tinyurl.com/yc7u296j
tinyurl.com/yc7u296j
Good to see the peer reviewed version of this published
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Investigating morphogen and patterning dynamics with optogenetic control of morphogen production
Benzinger et al. develop a chemo-optogenetic system for precise spatiotemporal control
of morphogen production in vitro. Using light-controlled Sonic hedgehog expression,
they recapitulate neural tube...
www.cell.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Good to see the peer reviewed version of this published
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
A chemo-optogenetic system for spatiotemporal control of gene expression
We use it to:
- Reconstruct SHH mediated neural tube patterning in vitro
- Measure extracellular half-life of Shh
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Looking forward to a few days at the InSDB-ISD meeting @insdb.bsky.social. Always happy to discuss @dev-journal.bsky.social
Development's Editor-in-Chief @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social will be attending the upcoming InSDB-ISD Joint Meeting from 14-17 December 2025 at IISER Berhampur, India. @insdb.bsky.social
Speak to James about your next Development paper.
Speak to James about your next Development paper.
December 14, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Looking forward to a few days at the InSDB-ISD meeting @insdb.bsky.social. Always happy to discuss @dev-journal.bsky.social
Learn more about @dev-journal.bsky.social Pathway to Independence Programme - supporting the transition of postdocs to group leaders
Catch up on where the 2022 PI fellows are now
Apply to become a 2026 PI fellow
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Catch up on where the 2022 PI fellows are now
Apply to become a 2026 PI fellow
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
A path to success: Development's Pathway to Independence programme
ABSTRACT. For post-docs pursuing an academic career, the transition to a group leader position can be a notoriously difficult one, not least because the availability of necessary support and training ...
journals.biologists.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Learn more about @dev-journal.bsky.social Pathway to Independence Programme - supporting the transition of postdocs to group leaders
Catch up on where the 2022 PI fellows are now
Apply to become a 2026 PI fellow
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Catch up on where the 2022 PI fellows are now
Apply to become a 2026 PI fellow
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
BBC News - Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
Prof Sir Paul Nurse says the UK is "shooting itself in the foot" with its visa system for researchers.
www.bbc.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:35 AM
BBC News - Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Great to see this published: Fitting dynamical landscape models to single-cell data, creating interpretable maps of cell decision making & developmental logic
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reconstructing Waddington’s landscape from data | PNAS
The development of a zygote into a functional organism requires that this single progenitor
cell gives rise to numerous distinct cell types. Attemp...
www.pnas.org
December 4, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Great to see this published: Fitting dynamical landscape models to single-cell data, creating interpretable maps of cell decision making & developmental logic
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Applied to neural tube patterning, we show how morphogen signals reshape landscapes and drive fate decisions
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by James Briscoe
Primate amnion development
In this Review, Nikola Sekulovski, Amber E. Carleton, Chien-Wei Lin and Kenichiro Taniguchi (@taniguchi-lab.bsky.social) discuss recent advances in primate amnion development
doi.org/10.1242/dev....
In this Review, Nikola Sekulovski, Amber E. Carleton, Chien-Wei Lin and Kenichiro Taniguchi (@taniguchi-lab.bsky.social) discuss recent advances in primate amnion development
doi.org/10.1242/dev....
December 3, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Primate amnion development
In this Review, Nikola Sekulovski, Amber E. Carleton, Chien-Wei Lin and Kenichiro Taniguchi (@taniguchi-lab.bsky.social) discuss recent advances in primate amnion development
doi.org/10.1242/dev....
In this Review, Nikola Sekulovski, Amber E. Carleton, Chien-Wei Lin and Kenichiro Taniguchi (@taniguchi-lab.bsky.social) discuss recent advances in primate amnion development
doi.org/10.1242/dev....
Reposted by James Briscoe
Applications are open for @dev-journal.bsky.social 2026 Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs applying for group leader positions:
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Development's Pathway to Independence Programme
Our grants support and encourage the sharing of knowledge throughout the community by facilitating international collaboration, event attendance and the organisation of scientific meetings, conference...
www.biologists.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Applications are open for @dev-journal.bsky.social 2026 Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs applying for group leader positions:
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Applications are open for @dev-journal.bsky.social 2026 Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs applying for group leader positions:
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Development's Pathway to Independence Programme
Our grants support and encourage the sharing of knowledge throughout the community by facilitating international collaboration, event attendance and the organisation of scientific meetings, conference...
www.biologists.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Applications are open for @dev-journal.bsky.social 2026 Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs applying for group leader positions:
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Mentoring
Profile raising
Leadership training
Network building
Spread the word...
www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Reposted by James Briscoe
Anthony A. Hyman will become EMBL’s next Director General.
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
November 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Anthony A. Hyman will become EMBL’s next Director General.
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
Nice summary of a recent @dev-journal.bsky.social paper
Researchers have identified gene-regulatory variants that might have contributed to Neanderthals’ beefy jaws — offering a window on how the human face developed
go.nature.com/3Ke6StJ
go.nature.com/3Ke6StJ
Neanderthal DNA reveals how human faces form
Subtle genomic variations between humans and Neanderthals provide clues to how DNA shapes our facial features.
go.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Nice summary of a recent @dev-journal.bsky.social paper
Reposted by James Briscoe
It's always special when you find your own paper in the table of contents of the journal 😍
"The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube" -> Now out in its final form
www.cell.com/developmenta...
"The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube" -> Now out in its final form
www.cell.com/developmenta...
November 18, 2025 at 4:11 PM
It's always special when you find your own paper in the table of contents of the journal 😍
"The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube" -> Now out in its final form
www.cell.com/developmenta...
"The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube" -> Now out in its final form
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Good to see the peer reviewed version of this in print
The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube
A global temporal chromatin program operates across the vertebrate nervous system to control neural cell diversity
www.cell.com/developmenta...
The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube
A global temporal chromatin program operates across the vertebrate nervous system to control neural cell diversity
www.cell.com/developmenta...
The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube
Zhang et al. identify a global temporal chromatin program that operates across the
developing vertebrate nervous system to control neural cell diversity. This mechanism,
which involves Nr6a1 and NFIA/...
www.cell.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Good to see the peer reviewed version of this in print
The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube
A global temporal chromatin program operates across the vertebrate nervous system to control neural cell diversity
www.cell.com/developmenta...
The cis-regulatory logic integrating spatial and temporal patterning in the vertebrate neural tube
A global temporal chromatin program operates across the vertebrate nervous system to control neural cell diversity
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Ten days left to apply to be a @crick.ac.uk Early Career Group Leader
Closing date 27th November
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Closing date 27th November
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
November 17, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Ten days left to apply to be a @crick.ac.uk Early Career Group Leader
Closing date 27th November
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Closing date 27th November
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Check out this month's handpicked preprints in developmantal & stem cell biology on the Node
thenode.biologists.com/prelighters-...
thenode.biologists.com/prelighters-...
thenode.biologists.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Check out this month's handpicked preprints in developmantal & stem cell biology on the Node
thenode.biologists.com/prelighters-...
thenode.biologists.com/prelighters-...
Reposted by James Briscoe
We have a new lab photo. Busy times in the Delas Lab!
Last month Maria and Shaun joined us to start their PhDs.
Learn more about our research and our team: delaslab.com
We will be recruiting another postdoc next year so have a look through our recent work and get in touch if you are interested.
Last month Maria and Shaun joined us to start their PhDs.
Learn more about our research and our team: delaslab.com
We will be recruiting another postdoc next year so have a look through our recent work and get in touch if you are interested.
November 12, 2025 at 2:04 PM
We have a new lab photo. Busy times in the Delas Lab!
Last month Maria and Shaun joined us to start their PhDs.
Learn more about our research and our team: delaslab.com
We will be recruiting another postdoc next year so have a look through our recent work and get in touch if you are interested.
Last month Maria and Shaun joined us to start their PhDs.
Learn more about our research and our team: delaslab.com
We will be recruiting another postdoc next year so have a look through our recent work and get in touch if you are interested.
Reposted by James Briscoe
Lates from the Briscoe lab: Lineage tracing of neural progenitors in 🐤& 👤 - demonstrates sequential binary decisions & persistence of spatial identity despite temporal competence changes.
Congrats to Giulia and co 🍾🥂
Congrats to Giulia and co 🍾🥂
Thrilled to share my main postdoc work with @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
We used genomic barcoding + scRNAseq in chick & human embryos to reveal a lineage architecture that reshapes how we understand neural tube development & cell fate decisions
🧵👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We used genomic barcoding + scRNAseq in chick & human embryos to reveal a lineage architecture that reshapes how we understand neural tube development & cell fate decisions
🧵👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding
The formation of neural circuits depends on the precise spatial and temporal organisation of neuronal populations during development. In the vertebrate spinal cord, progenitors are patterned into mole...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Lates from the Briscoe lab: Lineage tracing of neural progenitors in 🐤& 👤 - demonstrates sequential binary decisions & persistence of spatial identity despite temporal competence changes.
Congrats to Giulia and co 🍾🥂
Congrats to Giulia and co 🍾🥂
Reposted by James Briscoe
📣 Paper alert!
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
November 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM
📣 Paper alert!
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
BBC News - James Watson: Controversial discoverer of 'the secret of life'
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Obituary: James Watson
James Watson, the godfather of DNA who discovered the "secrets of life" has died aged 97.
www.bbc.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:43 PM
BBC News - James Watson: Controversial discoverer of 'the secret of life'
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Working in a biomed institute, its natural to think about health & medical impact of dev bio but there's more to dev bio
Agriculture is dev bio (plant growth, livestock breeding)
And dev bio is important to understand environment & climate impact. See e.g:
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Agriculture is dev bio (plant growth, livestock breeding)
And dev bio is important to understand environment & climate impact. See e.g:
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
In preprints: multiomics of low temperature acclimation in the era of intensifying temperature fluctuations
In a warming world, all life forms – endotherms and ectotherms alike – are finding their homeostasis being challenged. The environmental change is challenging at all stages of life. How different orga...
journals.biologists.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Working in a biomed institute, its natural to think about health & medical impact of dev bio but there's more to dev bio
Agriculture is dev bio (plant growth, livestock breeding)
And dev bio is important to understand environment & climate impact. See e.g:
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Agriculture is dev bio (plant growth, livestock breeding)
And dev bio is important to understand environment & climate impact. See e.g:
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Development that lasts a life time. Check out the 2025 special issue of @dev-journal.bsky.social on Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...
journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...
Volume 152 Issue 20 | Development | The Company of Biologists
journals.biologists.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Development that lasts a life time. Check out the 2025 special issue of @dev-journal.bsky.social on Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...
journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...