Jake Cornwall-Scoones
@jcornwallscoones.bsky.social
2025 Schmidt Science Fellow
CDB UCL London and Gurdon Institute Cambridge
Wilson, Simons and Norden labs
Developmental, Systems and Synthetic Biology
Prev: Briscoe, Crick Institute; Zernicka-Goetz and Thomson, Caltech; Banerjee and Goehring, UCL
CDB UCL London and Gurdon Institute Cambridge
Wilson, Simons and Norden labs
Developmental, Systems and Synthetic Biology
Prev: Briscoe, Crick Institute; Zernicka-Goetz and Thomson, Caltech; Banerjee and Goehring, UCL
Pinned
Crick PhD student awarded Schmidt Science Fellowship
Jake Cornwall Scoones, PhD student in the Developmental Dynamics Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, has been awarded a prestigious Schmidt Science Fellowship to support his research into how c...
www.crick.ac.uk
I’m thrilled to share I’ve been selected as a 2025 Schmidt Science Fellow @schmidtfellows.bsky.social
Looking forward to starting my next research adventure, investigating how organs and organisms measure and regulate their sizes 🐟🧠🫁🫀
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-04...
Looking forward to starting my next research adventure, investigating how organs and organisms measure and regulate their sizes 🐟🧠🫁🫀
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-04...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
New paper from the lab on a new Gateway compatible toolkit for transgenesis in eukaryotes, led by former technician Will Gillespie.
Open access @dev-journal.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Open access @dev-journal.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
MultiSite Assembly of Gateway Induced Clones (MAGIC): a flexible cloning toolbox for use in vertebrate model systems
Summary: A comprehensive suite of Gateway-compatible plasmids for in vitro and in vivo transgenesis in vertebrate model systems has been developed, together with a relational, modifiable, open-source ...
journals.biologists.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
New paper from the lab on a new Gateway compatible toolkit for transgenesis in eukaryotes, led by former technician Will Gillespie.
Open access @dev-journal.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Open access @dev-journal.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
How can we organize current theoretical approaches for developmental biology - from information to dynamical systems & GRNs - into a common framework?
We propose to think along Marr's 3 levels: computational problem, algorithm, implementation
Check out our review:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.24536
We propose to think along Marr's 3 levels: computational problem, algorithm, implementation
Check out our review:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.24536
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 AM
How can we organize current theoretical approaches for developmental biology - from information to dynamical systems & GRNs - into a common framework?
We propose to think along Marr's 3 levels: computational problem, algorithm, implementation
Check out our review:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.24536
We propose to think along Marr's 3 levels: computational problem, algorithm, implementation
Check out our review:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.24536
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
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
October 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM
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...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.24.684328v1
October 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.24.684328v1
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
We are looking forward to spending the next two days discussing INTERESTING THINGS at our workshop on Generative Biology: new approaches to study developmental design principles #GenBio25
Thanks to my excellent coorganisers @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social & @dbenzinger.bsky.social & all participants
Thanks to my excellent coorganisers @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social & @dbenzinger.bsky.social & all participants
En route to Brighton—for the 1st time—for the @royalsociety.org Generative Biology meeting organised by @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social, @dbenzinger.bsky.social & @cellysally.bsky.social. Happy to chat about @dev-journal.bsky.social, @the-node.bsky.social & @biologists.bsky.social. Also have freebies!
October 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
We are looking forward to spending the next two days discussing INTERESTING THINGS at our workshop on Generative Biology: new approaches to study developmental design principles #GenBio25
Thanks to my excellent coorganisers @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social & @dbenzinger.bsky.social & all participants
Thanks to my excellent coorganisers @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social & @dbenzinger.bsky.social & all participants
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
En route to Brighton—for the 1st time—for the @royalsociety.org Generative Biology meeting organised by @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social, @dbenzinger.bsky.social & @cellysally.bsky.social. Happy to chat about @dev-journal.bsky.social, @the-node.bsky.social & @biologists.bsky.social. Also have freebies!
October 19, 2025 at 3:33 PM
En route to Brighton—for the 1st time—for the @royalsociety.org Generative Biology meeting organised by @jcornwallscoones.bsky.social, @dbenzinger.bsky.social & @cellysally.bsky.social. Happy to chat about @dev-journal.bsky.social, @the-node.bsky.social & @biologists.bsky.social. Also have freebies!
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Happy to share the last version of our story @currentbiology.bsky.social on the role of interfacial tension in mechanical cell competition led by @leovalon.bsky.social and Alexis Matamoro Vidal
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 9, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Happy to share the last version of our story @currentbiology.bsky.social on the role of interfacial tension in mechanical cell competition led by @leovalon.bsky.social and Alexis Matamoro Vidal
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
I wrote something on developmental biology and disability and put it up on the node last night:
thenode.biologists.com/developmenta...
I've been nervous to share because some of it veers a bit personal but they are thoughts that won't stay quiet. Would love to know what people think about it!
thenode.biologists.com/developmenta...
I've been nervous to share because some of it veers a bit personal but they are thoughts that won't stay quiet. Would love to know what people think about it!
Developmental Biology and Disability - the Node
Hopeful monsters. Morphospace. Mutation. Natural variation. Mutagenesis screens. Polymorphism. Deformity. Phenotype. Disease. Adaptation. Anomaly.
thenode.biologists.com
September 30, 2025 at 9:38 AM
I wrote something on developmental biology and disability and put it up on the node last night:
thenode.biologists.com/developmenta...
I've been nervous to share because some of it veers a bit personal but they are thoughts that won't stay quiet. Would love to know what people think about it!
thenode.biologists.com/developmenta...
I've been nervous to share because some of it veers a bit personal but they are thoughts that won't stay quiet. Would love to know what people think about it!
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Really excited to share our latest work led by @mattiaubertini.bsky.social and @nesslfy.bsky.social: we report that cohesin loop extrusion creates rare but long-lived encounters between genomic sequences which underlie efficient enhancer-promoter communication.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
September 24, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Really excited to share our latest work led by @mattiaubertini.bsky.social and @nesslfy.bsky.social: we report that cohesin loop extrusion creates rare but long-lived encounters between genomic sequences which underlie efficient enhancer-promoter communication.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
🚨 Excited to introduce FuChi (Fucci chicken), the first avian cell cycle reporter line. Thank you to all those who contributed to putting this paper together. I really think it showcases the power and beauty of the chick embryo as a developmental biology model. 🐥 🥚 🔬 @roslininstitute.bsky.social
September 26, 2025 at 6:00 AM
🚨 Excited to introduce FuChi (Fucci chicken), the first avian cell cycle reporter line. Thank you to all those who contributed to putting this paper together. I really think it showcases the power and beauty of the chick embryo as a developmental biology model. 🐥 🥚 🔬 @roslininstitute.bsky.social
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Development does not happen in isolation! Material properties, geometry, stiffness, fluid flows...can all steer how development unfolds. If you’re exploring these kinds of questions, we’d love to see your work @dev-journal.bsky.social
More info below ⬇️
More info below ⬇️
📢Call for papers. Submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – The Extracellular Environment in Development, Regeneration and Stem Cells
Guest Editors: Alex Hughes and Rashmi Priya
📅 Deadline: 1 March 2026
journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/ex...
#DevBio
Guest Editors: Alex Hughes and Rashmi Priya
📅 Deadline: 1 March 2026
journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/ex...
#DevBio
September 19, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Development does not happen in isolation! Material properties, geometry, stiffness, fluid flows...can all steer how development unfolds. If you’re exploring these kinds of questions, we’d love to see your work @dev-journal.bsky.social
More info below ⬇️
More info below ⬇️
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Fresh from the press💥 We asked what happens when you evolve gene regulatory networks computationally at scale. Do general principles of GRN evolution jump out? Is the process predictable? Read on to find out @prxlife.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @ucl-ipls.bsky.social 👉 journals.aps.org/prxlife/abst...
Gene Network Organization, Mutation, and Selection Collectively Drive Developmental Pattern Evolvability and Predictability
The historical order in which mutations appear during evolution determine the evolutionary trajectory of gene regulatory networks and influence how developmental patterns change and diversify over tim...
journals.aps.org
September 16, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Fresh from the press💥 We asked what happens when you evolve gene regulatory networks computationally at scale. Do general principles of GRN evolution jump out? Is the process predictable? Read on to find out @prxlife.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @ucl-ipls.bsky.social 👉 journals.aps.org/prxlife/abst...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
1/3 After 6+ years at @crick.ac.uk I split my last cells and hung up my lab coat! Thank you to the brilliant community from fellow PhDs/Postdocs, LOAs, STPs, academic training team and to all past/present @santoslab.bsky.social members. My Crick journey would not have been the same without you all!
September 13, 2025 at 11:35 AM
1/3 After 6+ years at @crick.ac.uk I split my last cells and hung up my lab coat! Thank you to the brilliant community from fellow PhDs/Postdocs, LOAs, STPs, academic training team and to all past/present @santoslab.bsky.social members. My Crick journey would not have been the same without you all!
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Beautiful work led by @oliveringe.bsky.social. It was great fun to be involved with this project.
See Ollie’s paper and thread 👇
See Ollie’s paper and thread 👇
1/7 Really happy to see my PhD work published in ✨Developmental Cell✨ today! We find human endoderm is specified by two developmental trajectories 🔀, and the choice between alternate routes is dictated by the combinatorial BMP4/Activin signalling. www.cell.com/developmenta...
Combinatorial BMP4 and activin direct the choice between alternate routes to endoderm in a stem cell model of human gastrulation
Inge et al. show that human endoderm originates from two converging developmental
routes with distinct dynamics and efficiencies yet similar developmental potential.
Combinatorial activin and BMP4 sig...
www.cell.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Beautiful work led by @oliveringe.bsky.social. It was great fun to be involved with this project.
See Ollie’s paper and thread 👇
See Ollie’s paper and thread 👇
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Our latest: We developed a chemo-optogenetic system for precise spatiotemporal control of morphogen production. Using dual light + small molecule control of Sonic Hedgehog production, we recapitulated neural tube patterning in vitro & measured spread of Shh
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Investigating morphogen and patterning dynamics with optogenetic control of morphogen production
Morphogen gradients provide the patterning cues that instruct cell fate decisions during development. Here, we establish an optogenetic system for the…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 26, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Our latest: We developed a chemo-optogenetic system for precise spatiotemporal control of morphogen production. Using dual light + small molecule control of Sonic Hedgehog production, we recapitulated neural tube patterning in vitro & measured spread of Shh
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Our new paper is out in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Using 3D reconstructions and volume measurements in Drosophila wing primordia, we show that growth can be uncoupled from cell proliferation and uncover a new time window for growth arrest.
With @leopoldlab.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biol...
With @leopoldlab.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biol...
A switch to non-proliferative growth sustains Drosophila wing development during the early pupal stage
Using precise tissue volume quantification, El Marzkioui, Gaugué, et al. show that
wing primordia continue to grow during the early pupal stage, a phase of increased
cell volume driven by insulin/IGF ...
www.cell.com
August 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Our new paper is out in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Using 3D reconstructions and volume measurements in Drosophila wing primordia, we show that growth can be uncoupled from cell proliferation and uncover a new time window for growth arrest.
With @leopoldlab.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biol...
With @leopoldlab.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
How the functional architecture of the zebrafish heart is shaped during development
📹 @tobyandrews.bsky.social et al @rashmi-priya.bsky.social
lab @crick.ac.uk in @cellpress.bsky.social Developmental Cell
➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...
📹 @tobyandrews.bsky.social et al @rashmi-priya.bsky.social
lab @crick.ac.uk in @cellpress.bsky.social Developmental Cell
➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...
August 18, 2025 at 8:40 AM
How the functional architecture of the zebrafish heart is shaped during development
📹 @tobyandrews.bsky.social et al @rashmi-priya.bsky.social
lab @crick.ac.uk in @cellpress.bsky.social Developmental Cell
➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...
📹 @tobyandrews.bsky.social et al @rashmi-priya.bsky.social
lab @crick.ac.uk in @cellpress.bsky.social Developmental Cell
➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Thrilled to share the first story from my postdoc! 🎉 A wonderful experiment + simulations collaboration. In the Drosophila wing, we find that 3D cell shapes affect signalling range and fine-tune developmental patterning www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Thread below ⬇️
August 11, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Thrilled to share the first story from my postdoc! 🎉 A wonderful experiment + simulations collaboration. In the Drosophila wing, we find that 3D cell shapes affect signalling range and fine-tune developmental patterning www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Thread below ⬇️
Apply by Friday! 👇
We’re excited to announce that Naomi Moris @nmoris.bsky.social will join us in Oct
Don’t forget to register before the 15th August for a chance to give a short talk
Talk submissions can be received only after confirmation of registration (link 👇) so sign up ASAP if you’re interested in presenting
Don’t forget to register before the 15th August for a chance to give a short talk
Talk submissions can be received only after confirmation of registration (link 👇) so sign up ASAP if you’re interested in presenting
Speaker update for our Generative Biology workshop: we are delighted to have @nmoris.bsky.social join us. See full list of speakers on the attached flyer or on our website.
Apply by 15th August. Places available for short talks.
royalsociety.org/science-even...
Apply by 15th August. Places available for short talks.
royalsociety.org/science-even...
August 11, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Apply by Friday! 👇
Beautiful work from @tobyandrews.bsky.social @rashmi-priya.bsky.social. It was a joy to collaborate on the modelling here.
Check out Toby’s paper and thread 👇
Check out Toby’s paper and thread 👇
Thrilled to bits to see our latest work online in Dev Cell! 🥳
We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n
tinyurl.com/cell-stretch
We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n
tinyurl.com/cell-stretch
Mechanochemical coupling of cell shape and organ function optimizes heart size and contractile efficiency in zebrafish
Andrews et al. demonstrate that multiscale feedback between mechanical and chemical
cues builds a functional heart to support zebrafish embryonic life. Cell recruitment
and organ-scale forces drive tr...
tinyurl.com
August 7, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Beautiful work from @tobyandrews.bsky.social @rashmi-priya.bsky.social. It was a joy to collaborate on the modelling here.
Check out Toby’s paper and thread 👇
Check out Toby’s paper and thread 👇
8 days left to submit an abstract!
We’re excited to announce that Naomi Moris @nmoris.bsky.social will join us in Oct
Don’t forget to register before the 15th August for a chance to give a short talk
Talk submissions can be received only after confirmation of registration (link 👇) so sign up ASAP if you’re interested in presenting
Don’t forget to register before the 15th August for a chance to give a short talk
Talk submissions can be received only after confirmation of registration (link 👇) so sign up ASAP if you’re interested in presenting
Speaker update for our Generative Biology workshop: we are delighted to have @nmoris.bsky.social join us. See full list of speakers on the attached flyer or on our website.
Apply by 15th August. Places available for short talks.
royalsociety.org/science-even...
Apply by 15th August. Places available for short talks.
royalsociety.org/science-even...
August 7, 2025 at 7:52 AM
8 days left to submit an abstract!
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Thrilled to bits to see our latest work online in Dev Cell! 🥳
We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n
tinyurl.com/cell-stretch
We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n
tinyurl.com/cell-stretch
Mechanochemical coupling of cell shape and organ function optimizes heart size and contractile efficiency in zebrafish
Andrews et al. demonstrate that multiscale feedback between mechanical and chemical
cues builds a functional heart to support zebrafish embryonic life. Cell recruitment
and organ-scale forces drive tr...
tinyurl.com
August 6, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Thrilled to bits to see our latest work online in Dev Cell! 🥳
We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n
tinyurl.com/cell-stretch
We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n
tinyurl.com/cell-stretch
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
Reposted by Jake Cornwall-Scoones
We wrote this introductory review on how concepts from dynamical systems can help us understand developmental biology, hope it’s useful to somebody! It was a lot of fun to put together, and great to collaborate with brilliant colleagues across theory and experiments
Introducing five concepts from dynamical systems to decode developmental regulatory mechanisms, have a read! @perez-carrasco.bsky.social @roederlab.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social This effort started in a morphogenesis meeting @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social in 2023. journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
August 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
We wrote this introductory review on how concepts from dynamical systems can help us understand developmental biology, hope it’s useful to somebody! It was a lot of fun to put together, and great to collaborate with brilliant colleagues across theory and experiments