UCL Research Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
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ucl-cdb.bsky.social
UCL Research Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
@ucl-cdb.bsky.social
150 followers 2 following 35 posts
At UCL CDB, we strive to gain mechanistic insight into biological processes from cells to whole organisms.

We have a long tradition of answering fundamental questions in biology and incorporate the UCL Centre for Integrative Anatomy @ucl-c4ia.bsky.social.
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ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Balancing a recent post on #wasps @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social, now we mention #bees:

Marius @didziokas.bsky.social designs custom #LEGO sets as a hobby, which, if enough support, will be made & offered for sale:

beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

@ucl-c4ia.bsky.social - comments on #anatomy?!
Prototype LEGO bees and honeycomb showing 3 bees, each having a yellow body with black stripe, black, articulated legs, black antennae and mouth parts and amber wings. One bee (left, foreground) is on a clear plastic LEGO plinth; a second bee (left of centre) is facing away from us on the an upper hexagon of a 6-hexagon, amber LEGO honeycomb (shaped roughly in a Y-formation, tilted slightly to the right); and the 3rd been on the 'ground', facing left, to the right side of the 'honeycomb'. All against a yellow/amber background having feint hexagon watermarks all over. (phew!) A bee made of LEGO modelling pieces, having a yellow body with black stripe, black, articulated legs, black antennae and mouth parts and amber wings. It is supported by a clear plastic LEGO plinth;
June 23, 2025 at 12:52 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Our annual Postgraduate #Research (#PGR) #Student #Symposium is on Thurs,19th. There'll be 9 posters & 18 PGR speakers ending with CDB alumnus Prof Narender Ramnani, Professor of Neuroscience, @royalholloway.bsky.social, & President of the @britishneuro.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
A white poster with UCL logo in black and details of the location of the PGR student symposium on Thurs 19 June 2025 in the JZ Young Lecture Theatre (LT) with refreshments etc in the opposite LT, Gavin de Beer
June 13, 2025 at 2:53 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Many congratulations to Anna Franz, who has just accepted a proleptic appointment in CDB. Anna is a @wellcometrust.bsky.social & @royalsociety.org Sir Henry Dale Fellow, contributing: excellent #research on #fat cells, an UG module, public engagement, and input to @ucl.ac.uk #biosciences policy.
A head-and-shoulders photo of a smiling Anna Franz, a woman having mid-length, straightish, side-parted brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a bright mid-yellow jumper and silver dangly earrings
June 13, 2025 at 2:27 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Our Patel lab published on Ca / #Parkinson’s disease, indicating a new pharmacological route to impede the disease. Funded by The Wellcome Trust & Parkinsons UK; collaborated with scientists from Brazil, York, KCL, California, Germany, India doi: 10.1083/jcb.202412055
@ucllifesciences.bsky.social
The Patel lab published on Ca++/#Parkinson’s disease, indicating a new #pharmacological route to impede the disease. Funded by @wellcometrust and @ParkinsonsUK; collaborated with scientists from Brazil, York, @ucl, #KCL, California, Germany, India doi: 10.1083/jcb.202412055
May 22, 2025 at 8:42 AM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Congratulations to our new Head of Research Department, Professor Sandip Patel, Professor in Cell Signalling and previously (since Jan 2020) Deputy Head of the department. He replaces the excellent Professor Barbara Conradt, who led us for c. 6y. @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
Photo of head and shoulders of Sandip Patel, wearing a dark T shirt, against a cream background
April 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Congratulations to our Roberto Mayor and Saverio Tedesco, who attended UCL's annual celebration of honours. Robert was awarded Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Saverio gained Fellowship of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. @ucl.ac.uk @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
Two men, each holding a glass partly full of wine or champagne, standing together in a modern, partitioned room with other people and offices in the background. They are smiling, dress smartly and wearing their passes on black ribbons hanging around their necks
April 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Barbara Conradt has stepped down as our Head after years of excellent leadership. We are now in a great position to expand and meet new challenges. From tomorrow, Sandip Patel will take the helm; we wish him well & our full support. @ucl-c4ia.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk
A colour photo of Barbara Conradt, from sternum to top of head, wearing a navy-large-spotted white dress and curved, light brown-framed spectacles, giving a presentation (not visible). A black & white photo of Sandip Patel from sternum to head, wearing a white T shirt with a darker top over it and dark-rimmed, narrow rectangular glasses.
March 31, 2025 at 9:01 AM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Prof Giles Hardingham of Edinburgh University will talk to us on Thursday about 'Neuro-glial interactions in #health and #disease'. This talk is part of our CDB #Seminar Series and will be hosted by Prof Patricia Salinas. #brain @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl-c4ia.bsky.social #neurodegernative
Headshot of man having grey-dark, short hair, beige face, brown eyes, close-cut grey-brown beard and moustache, wearing a pale blue and white small-checked shirt with an open collar
February 3, 2025 at 11:01 AM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
We are looking forward to our annual #symposium next month and hearing our keynote speaker, Brandon Kilbourne, on #mammalian #locomotor systems.

Thank you to The Anatomical Society and @the-node.bsky.social for their grants, enabling Brandon to travel and be here in person. #Anatomy @ucl.ac.uk
A headshot of Brandon Kilbourne
January 22, 2025 at 2:10 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Postdoc #research job open in UCL CDB's Barrios lab [www.barrioslab.org] to work on answering: How do #memories become #behaviour? More info/apply here: tinyurl.com/Barrios-job. Supported by BBSRC.
Questions to: a.barrios@ucl.ac.uk #memory #biology @ucl.ac.uk @UCLlifesciences
Diagram in three sections: on the left and odour gradient with aversely, sexually and mock-conditioned subjects plotted; and on the right, two models of aversive and appetitive memory
January 14, 2025 at 10:14 AM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
UCL CDB members: get ready for our traditional CDB New Year Celebration on Wednesday, 22 January 2025, from 17:00! Refreshments will be served in the Haldane Room, ground floor Anatomy Building.

The party will follow our CDB All Staff and PhD Student meeting. Happy new year! @UCL
An image of gold and colourful presents, baubles and 'star bursts' on a dark grey background, with the legend (in various colours) Happy New Year 2025 superimposed
January 2, 2025 at 10:39 AM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
UCL ranks 1st in UK, 3rd in Europe and 5th globally in QS #Sustainability Rankings - we're proud to be part of this! With an overall score of 98.6 out of 100, the rankings highlight UCL’s leadership in addressing #environmental, social and governance (#esg) challenges. @uclofficial.bsky.social
Close-up photo of two differently-looking students sitting at a round table looking at a laptop outdoors in the quad of UCL with the main building behind
December 19, 2024 at 2:14 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Our researchers, in a paper just published in Nature Comms, offer new insights into how different #cell types are generated during animal development, which in future could help to solve some #autoimmunity, #cancer and #developmental abnormalities. doi.org/10.1038/s414... @uclofficial.bsky.social
Diagrammatic illustration of the description in the paper's text, showing that, using the nematode C. elegans as a model, the authors focused on asymmetrically dividing mother cells, where one daughter cell dies (‘cell death’ fate) while the other daughter cell survives (‘cell survival’ fate). This presented them with an excellent paradigm to explore how cell fate decisions (death v survival) are made during asymmetric cell division. They found that, when they reduced the function of CMG, the dying daughter cells wrongly acquired the fates of their sister cells and instead survived
December 11, 2024 at 6:33 PM
ucl-cdb.bsky.social
Thank you for following us on bsky. We also recommend the UCL Centre of Integrative Anatomy's feed, here: bsky.app/profile/ucl-....

It's our specialist #interdisciplinary #research centre for every aspect of #anatomy - #comparative, #evolutionary, #developmental, #medical and #forensic
A series of scans of human skulls, coloured green-blue and red-yellow to show development throughout life
December 11, 2024 at 5:21 PM