Maria Antonietta Tosches
@matosches.bsky.social
Associate Professor @ Columbia University. Brain evolution, plasticity and regeneration. www.tosches-lab.com
Pinned
Evolution of Cajal-Retzius Cells in Vertebrates from an Ancient Class of Tp73+ Neurons
In the developing cerebral cortex, Cajal Retzius (CR) cells are early-born neurons that orchestrate the development of mammalian-specific cortical features. However, this cell type has not been conclu...
www.biorxiv.org
Excited to share our latest work on brain evolution, where we dive into the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells! If you are interested in cell type evolution and cerebral cortex evo-devo, please read on… www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 1/7
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
New faculty job opening at @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social @columbiauniversity.bsky.social
Come be our colleague!
Application deadline: November 22
apply.interfolio.com/176153
Come be our colleague!
Application deadline: November 22
apply.interfolio.com/176153
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM
New faculty job opening at @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social @columbiauniversity.bsky.social
Come be our colleague!
Application deadline: November 22
apply.interfolio.com/176153
Come be our colleague!
Application deadline: November 22
apply.interfolio.com/176153
Looking forward to speaking at the next TIBBE seminar!
🤩 Join us for the next TIBBE seminar:
Evolution of brain cell types.
September 10, 2–3pm UTC
This event brings together 2 outstanding evolutionary and developmental neuroscientists who will present their work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/evolution-...
Evolution of brain cell types.
September 10, 2–3pm UTC
This event brings together 2 outstanding evolutionary and developmental neuroscientists who will present their work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/evolution-...
September 4, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Looking forward to speaking at the next TIBBE seminar!
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Scientists have mapped the entire connectome of a 3-day-old marine worm larva (Platynereis dumerilii), including over 9,000 cells and 200+ neuronal types. This resource can help us understand how nervous systems evolved and coordinate whole-body movement.
buff.ly/IPxFCHs
buff.ly/IPxFCHs
September 1, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Scientists have mapped the entire connectome of a 3-day-old marine worm larva (Platynereis dumerilii), including over 9,000 cells and 200+ neuronal types. This resource can help us understand how nervous systems evolved and coordinate whole-body movement.
buff.ly/IPxFCHs
buff.ly/IPxFCHs
Excited to share our latest work on brain evolution, where we dive into the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells! If you are interested in cell type evolution and cerebral cortex evo-devo, please read on… www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 1/7
Evolution of Cajal-Retzius Cells in Vertebrates from an Ancient Class of Tp73+ Neurons
In the developing cerebral cortex, Cajal Retzius (CR) cells are early-born neurons that orchestrate the development of mammalian-specific cortical features. However, this cell type has not been conclu...
www.biorxiv.org
August 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Excited to share our latest work on brain evolution, where we dive into the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells! If you are interested in cell type evolution and cerebral cortex evo-devo, please read on… www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 1/7
So true!
The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.
August 14, 2025 at 1:00 AM
So true!
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
We’re looking for curious, innovative science leaders at EMBL Heidelberg! 🔬🧬🦠
Join a vibrant, interdisciplinary community where collaboration and innovation are nurtured at all levels.
Take a look at these four open positions 👇
Join a vibrant, interdisciplinary community where collaboration and innovation are nurtured at all levels.
Take a look at these four open positions 👇
August 7, 2025 at 8:28 AM
We’re looking for curious, innovative science leaders at EMBL Heidelberg! 🔬🧬🦠
Join a vibrant, interdisciplinary community where collaboration and innovation are nurtured at all levels.
Take a look at these four open positions 👇
Join a vibrant, interdisciplinary community where collaboration and innovation are nurtured at all levels.
Take a look at these four open positions 👇
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Evolution’s eye game is wild, but mollusks take it to another level
CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess
It turns out Evolution doesn’t just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates
rdcu.be/ezw0t
CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess
It turns out Evolution doesn’t just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates
rdcu.be/ezw0t
A genetically tractable non-vertebrate system to study complete camera-type eye regeneration
Nature Communications - Accorsi et al. show that the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata has eyes similar to humans and can fully regenerate them. They then developed genetic tools to establish these...
url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com
August 6, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Evolution’s eye game is wild, but mollusks take it to another level
CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess
It turns out Evolution doesn’t just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates
rdcu.be/ezw0t
CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess
It turns out Evolution doesn’t just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates
rdcu.be/ezw0t
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Happy to share our publication - Comparative connectomics of two distantly related nematode species reveals patterns of nervous system evolution www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Comparative connectomics of two distantly related nematode species reveals patterns of nervous system evolution
Understanding the evolution of the bilaterian brain requires a detailed exploration of the precise nature of cellular and subcellular differences between related species. We undertook an electron micr...
www.science.org
July 31, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Happy to share our publication - Comparative connectomics of two distantly related nematode species reveals patterns of nervous system evolution www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Today, the @fwf-at.bsky.social honors Elly Tanaka, IMBA's Scientific Director, with the Wittgenstein Award – the premier research award of Austria - for her groundbreaking discoveries in the field of regenerative biology. Congratulations, Elly!
More on the award: imba.science/43Y93sC
More on the award: imba.science/43Y93sC
June 25, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Today, the @fwf-at.bsky.social honors Elly Tanaka, IMBA's Scientific Director, with the Wittgenstein Award – the premier research award of Austria - for her groundbreaking discoveries in the field of regenerative biology. Congratulations, Elly!
More on the award: imba.science/43Y93sC
More on the award: imba.science/43Y93sC
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
How do brain circuits evolve? We started looking for some answers by using synapse-resolution cross-species comparative connectomics on an entire olfactory circuit 👇
bit.ly/44aVm9E
bit.ly/44aVm9E
June 12, 2025 at 11:04 AM
How do brain circuits evolve? We started looking for some answers by using synapse-resolution cross-species comparative connectomics on an entire olfactory circuit 👇
bit.ly/44aVm9E
bit.ly/44aVm9E
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
The axolotl has the ability to regenerate its brain.
Using single-cell transcriptomics, four Science studies in 2022 revealed evolutionary innovations in reptile and amphibian brains.
Learn more during #AmphibianWeek: scim.ag/3EEKMxZ
Using single-cell transcriptomics, four Science studies in 2022 revealed evolutionary innovations in reptile and amphibian brains.
Learn more during #AmphibianWeek: scim.ag/3EEKMxZ
May 5, 2025 at 7:24 PM
The axolotl has the ability to regenerate its brain.
Using single-cell transcriptomics, four Science studies in 2022 revealed evolutionary innovations in reptile and amphibian brains.
Learn more during #AmphibianWeek: scim.ag/3EEKMxZ
Using single-cell transcriptomics, four Science studies in 2022 revealed evolutionary innovations in reptile and amphibian brains.
Learn more during #AmphibianWeek: scim.ag/3EEKMxZ
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Thrilled to share our latest study out in @natureportfolio.nature.com led by the fantastically talented Jing Liu. Our study provides insight into a long standing question in biology: What molecular features make us uniquely human and how do these function? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A human-specific enhancer fine-tunes radial glia potency and corticogenesis - Nature
HARE5, a human accelerated region enhancer, modulates cortical development by influencing neural progenitor cell behaviour, leading to an enlarged neocortex with increased functional independence betw...
www.nature.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Thrilled to share our latest study out in @natureportfolio.nature.com led by the fantastically talented Jing Liu. Our study provides insight into a long standing question in biology: What molecular features make us uniquely human and how do these function? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Check out our latest issue to read a Q&A with @thibautbrunet.bsky.social, who studies the evolutionary origin of animal morphogenesis at the Institut Pasteur. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Thibaut Brunet
Interview with Thibaut Brunet, who studies the evolutionary origin of animal morphogenesis
at the Institut Pasteur.
www.cell.com
May 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Check out our latest issue to read a Q&A with @thibautbrunet.bsky.social, who studies the evolutionary origin of animal morphogenesis at the Institut Pasteur. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Wonderful work by @nataliabaumann.bsky.social & the @djabaudon.bsky.social team showing how progenitor metabolism regulates region-specific neurogenesis! Glad our group could contribute, thanks to Eleonora Conti & Roberto Sansevrino.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Regional differences in progenitor metabolism shape brain growth during development
Brain-wide birthdate mapping reveals that while hindbrain neurogenesis is transient,
forebrain neurogenesis is temporally sustained through spatiotemporal regulation of
progenitor mitochondrial functi...
www.cell.com
May 1, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Wonderful work by @nataliabaumann.bsky.social & the @djabaudon.bsky.social team showing how progenitor metabolism regulates region-specific neurogenesis! Glad our group could contribute, thanks to Eleonora Conti & Roberto Sansevrino.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
New preprint from my PhD in @amphispacelab.bsky.social is out! 🥳
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
Evolutionary dynamics of FoxQ2 transcription factors across metazoans: A tale of three ancient paralogs
FoxQ2 is a highly conserved class of Forkhead-box transcription factors expressed on the anterior side of the body in cnidarians and bilaterians. Despite this conserved expression pattern, recent phyl...
tinyurl.com
April 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM
New preprint from my PhD in @amphispacelab.bsky.social is out! 🥳
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Please mark your calendars and join us next May 20th in the next session of the webinar series "The future of Neuroethology". We will have a line-up of amazing scientists as usual, we will learn about locusts, newts and cichlids!
April 16, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Please mark your calendars and join us next May 20th in the next session of the webinar series "The future of Neuroethology". We will have a line-up of amazing scientists as usual, we will learn about locusts, newts and cichlids!
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Happy to see my PhD work in the Fleischmann lab at Brown University @carneyinstitute.bsky.social published in
@natureneuro.bsky.social! -Single-cell genomics of the mouse olfactory cortex reveals contrasts with neocortex and ancestral signatures of cell type evolution nature.com/articles/s41...
@natureneuro.bsky.social! -Single-cell genomics of the mouse olfactory cortex reveals contrasts with neocortex and ancestral signatures of cell type evolution nature.com/articles/s41...
April 8, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Happy to see my PhD work in the Fleischmann lab at Brown University @carneyinstitute.bsky.social published in
@natureneuro.bsky.social! -Single-cell genomics of the mouse olfactory cortex reveals contrasts with neocortex and ancestral signatures of cell type evolution nature.com/articles/s41...
@natureneuro.bsky.social! -Single-cell genomics of the mouse olfactory cortex reveals contrasts with neocortex and ancestral signatures of cell type evolution nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Maria Antonietta Tosches
Delighted to see our paper finally out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social! Together with Ian MacRae, we developed a new toolbox to study microRNAs and used it to find new mechanisms of Purkinje cell development. Please see the tweetorial from researcher extraordinaire @norjin.bsky.social for details.
✨So happy to see part of my PhD work with @lippilab.bsky.social out today in @cp-neuron.bsky.social! ✨
We developed new tools to study microRNA-target networks with greater spatial and temporal resolution and found neuronal subtype- and developmental stage-specific roles:
We developed new tools to study microRNA-target networks with greater spatial and temporal resolution and found neuronal subtype- and developmental stage-specific roles:
MicroRNA mechanisms instructing Purkinje cell specification
Zolboot et al. introduce DD-T6B and SAP-seq, methods for investigating microRNA function
with enhanced spatiotemporal resolution, and identify Purkinje cell-specific microRNAs
and targets instructing ...
www.cell.com
April 2, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Delighted to see our paper finally out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social! Together with Ian MacRae, we developed a new toolbox to study microRNAs and used it to find new mechanisms of Purkinje cell development. Please see the tweetorial from researcher extraordinaire @norjin.bsky.social for details.