Spent the week in Cambridge with @benkinsjenkins.bsky.social testing this custom made microscope to live image Aiptasia larvae. Got some cool videos that we hope to share very soon! Thanks for hosting me Ben!

Coral spawning up close from my travels to Okinawa at this time last year. 😍 I learned a lot about coral fieldwork and gained valuable insights into immune mechanisms of symbiosis establishment, can't wait to go back! #SymbioSky

I've been busy the last couple years developing Aiptasia as a genetically tractable model organism to study corals. Here you can see me injecting CRISPR-Cas9 into these fragile little Aiptasia zygotes. Hopefully soon we will have our very first mutant lines!

Was a pleasure to present my work on immune regulation of symbiosis in corals and anemones at the Wild frontiers of model organisms conference hosted by @events.embl.org Highly recommend you checking out this event again in 2027! #EESWildModels

Finally, we over expressed the phagocytic RGD-binding integrins in HEK cells, which increased their capacity to phagocytose symbionts, but not non-symbionts. Mutation of the integrin binding site abolished the increase in phagocytosis.

Using RGD peptides to compete with integrin binding sites we found that addition of RGD inhibited the uptake of symbionts into Aiptasia and Acropora coral larvae, but had no effect on non-symbiotic algae or in the non-symbiotic anemone Nematostella.

By comparing cnidarian integrins with vertebrates we could identify alpha integrins that are similar to those that bind to RGD peptides, which are known to facilitate phagocytosis in other systems. This alpha integrin is expressed in endodermal tissue where symbiosis takes place.

We show that symbionts alter the expression of integrins and downstream signalling components in endodermal cells that take up symbionts, but not non-symbiotic algae.

Happy Holidays from our festive Aiptasia anemones! I will never get bored of looking at these cuties under the microscope 🔬
#marinescience #aiptasia

Wonderful collab with the local interactive science museum Biotopia where the Guse lab will introduce the public to some amazing microscopic plankton! Science communication and engagement with the public is important and I'm looking forward to more opportunities like this in the future!

Ecstatic to announce I have received a Marie Curie PostDoc Fellowship to work in the Guse Lab and understand how immunity regulates symbiosis in Aiptasia and corals. Excited for the work to come!

Officially been living in Munich for one year as of today! Been having a blast working on such an interesting model organism. Here's a pic of one of my CRISPR mutant Aiptasia polyps associated with symbionts (red) 😍 #aiptasia #mutant

Getting back in the groove of things with my anemone friends after a relaxing break. Here's an image I captured lately of a juvenile Aiptasia polyp "kissing" a larvae 😍

Please let me reintroduce myself!