David Brückner
@davidbrueckner.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @biozentrum.unibas.ch • Theoretical biophysics • Postdoc ISTAustria, PhD LMU Munich, MSc Cambridge University
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/brueckner
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/brueckner
Pinned
Why do some cells become neurons and others muscle?
Physicist Prof. David Brückner @davidbrueckner.bsky.social @biozentrum.unibas.ch @unibas.ch receives a prestigious #ERCStartingGrant to uncover how cells make life-shaping decisions. @erc.europa.eu
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news/detail/...
Physicist Prof. David Brückner @davidbrueckner.bsky.social @biozentrum.unibas.ch @unibas.ch receives a prestigious #ERCStartingGrant to uncover how cells make life-shaping decisions. @erc.europa.eu
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news/detail/...
ERC Starting Grant for Physicist David Brückner
How do cells decide which role to take on in the body? Prof. David Brückner from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel is investigating this and similar questions. Over the next five years, a Star...
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch
Super excited that our group will be supported by an ERC Starting Grant!
In project "InfoFate" we will study how cells use information in dynamical, neighborhood & mechanical signals to make decisions.
We'll have PhD and Postdoc positions available, please get in touch if interested!
In project "InfoFate" we will study how cells use information in dynamical, neighborhood & mechanical signals to make decisions.
We'll have PhD and Postdoc positions available, please get in touch if interested!
Reposted by David Brückner
Great science & fruiful discussions last Friday the 14th Nov. around "the physics of Stem cells" , the 2025 Stem Cell Initiative & QBio joint symposium.
An honour to have Meryem Baghdadi & David Brückner as keynote speakers, who gave inspiring talks.
🙏🙏 to all our speakers & poster presenters.
An honour to have Meryem Baghdadi & David Brückner as keynote speakers, who gave inspiring talks.
🙏🙏 to all our speakers & poster presenters.
November 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Great science & fruiful discussions last Friday the 14th Nov. around "the physics of Stem cells" , the 2025 Stem Cell Initiative & QBio joint symposium.
An honour to have Meryem Baghdadi & David Brückner as keynote speakers, who gave inspiring talks.
🙏🙏 to all our speakers & poster presenters.
An honour to have Meryem Baghdadi & David Brückner as keynote speakers, who gave inspiring talks.
🙏🙏 to all our speakers & poster presenters.
Reposted by David Brückner
Advanced grad students + postdocs: apply for the 2026 #kitpqbio summer course, "Physical Principles of Morphogenesis in Plants and Animals," at buff.ly/OXXMKEv. Apply by Feb. 1.
Course directors Adrienne Roeder (Cornell) and Sebastian Streichan (UCSB)
Course directors Adrienne Roeder (Cornell) and Sebastian Streichan (UCSB)
November 19, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Advanced grad students + postdocs: apply for the 2026 #kitpqbio summer course, "Physical Principles of Morphogenesis in Plants and Animals," at buff.ly/OXXMKEv. Apply by Feb. 1.
Course directors Adrienne Roeder (Cornell) and Sebastian Streichan (UCSB)
Course directors Adrienne Roeder (Cornell) and Sebastian Streichan (UCSB)
Reposted by David Brückner
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...
Reposted by David Brückner
Wonderful to see the beautiful preprint from Sabate et al now published - TADs are also dynamic structures in human cells, with remarkably similar parameters between mESCs and HCT116 cells
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Wonderful to see the beautiful preprint from Sabate et al now published - TADs are also dynamic structures in human cells, with remarkably similar parameters between mESCs and HCT116 cells
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Brückner
Active droplets are fundamental in cell biology and origin of life. With Jonathan Bauermann, @boekhovenlab.bsky.social, Frank Jülicher, and @m-pol.bsky.social, we show that a critical transition influences their size, morphology, ripening and division propensity
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
November 15, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Active droplets are fundamental in cell biology and origin of life. With Jonathan Bauermann, @boekhovenlab.bsky.social, Frank Jülicher, and @m-pol.bsky.social, we show that a critical transition influences their size, morphology, ripening and division propensity
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
Super excited to finally visit our collaborators @heemskerklab.bsky.social at the University of Michigan!
Seminar tomorrow at 1 PM
singlecellspatialanalysis.umich.edu/scsap-monthl...
Seminar tomorrow at 1 PM
singlecellspatialanalysis.umich.edu/scsap-monthl...
SCSAP Monthly Seminar November 2025 | SCSAP: Single Cell Spatial Analysis
singlecellspatialanalysis.umich.edu
November 16, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Super excited to finally visit our collaborators @heemskerklab.bsky.social at the University of Michigan!
Seminar tomorrow at 1 PM
singlecellspatialanalysis.umich.edu/scsap-monthl...
Seminar tomorrow at 1 PM
singlecellspatialanalysis.umich.edu/scsap-monthl...
Had a great time at the "Physics of Stem Cells" Meeting at Institut Pasteur last week!
Many inspiring talks with different perspectives on how stem cells make decisions
Many inspiring talks with different perspectives on how stem cells make decisions
November 16, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Had a great time at the "Physics of Stem Cells" Meeting at Institut Pasteur last week!
Many inspiring talks with different perspectives on how stem cells make decisions
Many inspiring talks with different perspectives on how stem cells make decisions
Reposted by David Brückner
Hi, I’m David Brückner @davidbrueckner.bsky.social.
I’ll take you through how cells in a tissue can use information distributed by biochemical gradients to make decisions, and how we can measure such positional information.
buff.ly/RFxVeHh
I’ll take you through how cells in a tissue can use information distributed by biochemical gradients to make decisions, and how we can measure such positional information.
buff.ly/RFxVeHh
November 15, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Hi, I’m David Brückner @davidbrueckner.bsky.social.
I’ll take you through how cells in a tissue can use information distributed by biochemical gradients to make decisions, and how we can measure such positional information.
buff.ly/RFxVeHh
I’ll take you through how cells in a tissue can use information distributed by biochemical gradients to make decisions, and how we can measure such positional information.
buff.ly/RFxVeHh
Reposted by David Brückner
Ever wondered what drives enhancer-promoter specificity? Why would an enhancer activate one gene rather than another neighboring one?
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Promoter-proximal gatekeepers restrict pleiotropic enhancer inputs to achieve tissue specificity
Developmental enhancers are central regulatory elements that can activate multiple genes, yet how they selectively regulate one gene over its neighbours remains unclear. Using the Drosophila twist E3 ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Ever wondered what drives enhancer-promoter specificity? Why would an enhancer activate one gene rather than another neighboring one?
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by David Brückner
Wolpert, L. (1969). Positional information and the spatial pattern of cellular differentiation. Journal of theoretical biology, 25(1), 1-47. #EpithelialMechanics
Positional information and the spatial pattern of cellular differentiation
The problem of pattern is considered in terms of how genetic information can be translated in a reliable manner to give specific and different spatial…
doi.org
November 12, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Wolpert, L. (1969). Positional information and the spatial pattern of cellular differentiation. Journal of theoretical biology, 25(1), 1-47. #EpithelialMechanics
Reposted by David Brückner
🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
November 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
Reposted by David Brückner
Jan Rozman, Sumesh P. Thampi, Julia M. Yeomans: Why Extensile and Contractile Tissues Could be Hard to Tell Apart https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07012 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.07012 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.07012
November 11, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Jan Rozman, Sumesh P. Thampi, Julia M. Yeomans: Why Extensile and Contractile Tissues Could be Hard to Tell Apart https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07012 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.07012 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.07012
Reposted by David Brückner
Switzerland is joining Horizon Europe!
We are uniting two research powerhouses.
For cutting-edge innovation that will boost our energy security, digital transformation, health and so much more.
Today is a good day for science, and for our EU-Switzerland partnership.
We are uniting two research powerhouses.
For cutting-edge innovation that will boost our energy security, digital transformation, health and so much more.
Today is a good day for science, and for our EU-Switzerland partnership.
November 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Switzerland is joining Horizon Europe!
We are uniting two research powerhouses.
For cutting-edge innovation that will boost our energy security, digital transformation, health and so much more.
Today is a good day for science, and for our EU-Switzerland partnership.
We are uniting two research powerhouses.
For cutting-edge innovation that will boost our energy security, digital transformation, health and so much more.
Today is a good day for science, and for our EU-Switzerland partnership.
Reposted by David Brückner
Brückner, D. B., & Tkačik, G. (2024). Information content and optimization of self-organized developmental systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, #EpithelialMechanics www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 10, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Brückner, D. B., & Tkačik, G. (2024). Information content and optimization of self-organized developmental systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, #EpithelialMechanics www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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 David Brückner
We finally made it over here ! And excited to share our new paper on mechanical forces regulating stem cell plasticity in colorectal cancer, involving force transduction via mechanosensitive calcium channels! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Mechanosensitive calcium channels and integrins coordinate the reprogramming of colorectal cancer cells into a fetal-like state
van der Net et al. show that mechanical interactions with the stromal component collagen
I trigger reprogramming of colorectal cancer cells into a fetal-like state, through
mechanosensitive integrins ...
www.cell.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
We finally made it over here ! And excited to share our new paper on mechanical forces regulating stem cell plasticity in colorectal cancer, involving force transduction via mechanosensitive calcium channels! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by David Brückner
Epithelial convergent extension as a tuning process https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.06.687029v1
November 8, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Epithelial convergent extension as a tuning process https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.06.687029v1
Reposted by David Brückner
A lovely example of the interplay of morphogen dynamics, tissue mechanics, cell mechanics and signal transduction at the most crucial stage of embryogenesis. And a good example of why talk of development being "programmed" into the genome is simply the wrong language.
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
Crosstalk between tissue mechanics and BMP4 signaling regulates symmetry breaking in human gastrula models
Brivanlou and colleagues used optogenetics to spatially control BMP4 expression in
human stem cell models across different mechanical regimes. By combining these experiments
with mathematical modeling...
www.cell.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:56 PM
A lovely example of the interplay of morphogen dynamics, tissue mechanics, cell mechanics and signal transduction at the most crucial stage of embryogenesis. And a good example of why talk of development being "programmed" into the genome is simply the wrong language.
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
Excited to visit CRG & EMBL Barcelona tomorrow!
🧬 How do cells know what shape to take?
Join us ar at the Barcelona Collaboratorium to meet David Brückner (Biozentrum Basel) on information flow in self-organized developmental systems.
🗓️ 6 Nov – 10:00 CEST
Join us ar at the Barcelona Collaboratorium to meet David Brückner (Biozentrum Basel) on information flow in self-organized developmental systems.
🗓️ 6 Nov – 10:00 CEST
November 5, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Excited to visit CRG & EMBL Barcelona tomorrow!
Nice highlight by Joseph d’Alessandro & Mélina Heuzé on our recent paper about mechanical memory in migrating cells with @sgabriele.bsky.social and @kyohalie.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Memory foam’ skeleton in cells helps them to navigate
Cells change shape to move efficiently in a range of spatial environments. This response can be informed by the cell’s memory of past deformation.
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Nice highlight by Joseph d’Alessandro & Mélina Heuzé on our recent paper about mechanical memory in migrating cells with @sgabriele.bsky.social and @kyohalie.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by David Brückner
REMINDER! One week left to apply for what (in my humble and somewhat biased opinion) is one of the best academic jobs on the planet! Come join our vibrant and collaborative community here at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch @unibas.ch 🧪
EXCITING NEWS!! We're searching for a new professor colleague at the Biozentrum🇨🇭. Ideal candidates are exploring novel biological questions with structure, biophysics, or high-resolution imaging. 🧪 🧶🧬 🔬
The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩🔬🤓
The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩🔬🤓
October 27, 2025 at 12:52 PM
REMINDER! One week left to apply for what (in my humble and somewhat biased opinion) is one of the best academic jobs on the planet! Come join our vibrant and collaborative community here at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch @unibas.ch 🧪
Reposted by David Brückner
Your go-to tutorial for simulating mesoscale membranes is here. Look no further for:
-Understanding the state of the field
-A guide for creating new models for your science
-Hands-on tutorials to simulate your very own membranes
See tinyurl.com/punk3tcu and the below 🧵 start your journey 💻
-Understanding the state of the field
-A guide for creating new models for your science
-Hands-on tutorials to simulate your very own membranes
See tinyurl.com/punk3tcu and the below 🧵 start your journey 💻
October 22, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Your go-to tutorial for simulating mesoscale membranes is here. Look no further for:
-Understanding the state of the field
-A guide for creating new models for your science
-Hands-on tutorials to simulate your very own membranes
See tinyurl.com/punk3tcu and the below 🧵 start your journey 💻
-Understanding the state of the field
-A guide for creating new models for your science
-Hands-on tutorials to simulate your very own membranes
See tinyurl.com/punk3tcu and the below 🧵 start your journey 💻
Reposted by David Brückner
📣Announcing the 4th edition of the EMBL‑IBEC Conference on “Engineering Multicellular Systems”, taking place 11–13 March 2026 in Barcelona. Exploring organoids, mechanobiology, embryo models, organ-on-chip systems, multiomics and more. Abstracts open now!
events.ibecbarcelona.eu/embl-ibec-co...
events.ibecbarcelona.eu/embl-ibec-co...
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
📣Announcing the 4th edition of the EMBL‑IBEC Conference on “Engineering Multicellular Systems”, taking place 11–13 March 2026 in Barcelona. Exploring organoids, mechanobiology, embryo models, organ-on-chip systems, multiomics and more. Abstracts open now!
events.ibecbarcelona.eu/embl-ibec-co...
events.ibecbarcelona.eu/embl-ibec-co...
🤔 Can tissue patterning & tumor heterogeneity emerge in a self-organized way?
We show that self-organized mechanical stress & density gradients pattern tumors in vitro & in vivo, and this behavior is quantitatively predicted by a mechano-chemical active fluid model!
Check out Carlos' thread ⬇️
We show that self-organized mechanical stress & density gradients pattern tumors in vitro & in vivo, and this behavior is quantitatively predicted by a mechano-chemical active fluid model!
Check out Carlos' thread ⬇️
1/ 🎉Excited to share our new preprint @vignjeviclab.bsky.social @davidbrueckner.bsky.social :
"Self-organization of tumor heterogeneity and plasticity"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Tumor heterogeneity and plasticity drive metastasis and relapse. How is tumor patterning coordinated?
A thread👇
"Self-organization of tumor heterogeneity and plasticity"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Tumor heterogeneity and plasticity drive metastasis and relapse. How is tumor patterning coordinated?
A thread👇
October 16, 2025 at 10:40 PM
🤔 Can tissue patterning & tumor heterogeneity emerge in a self-organized way?
We show that self-organized mechanical stress & density gradients pattern tumors in vitro & in vivo, and this behavior is quantitatively predicted by a mechano-chemical active fluid model!
Check out Carlos' thread ⬇️
We show that self-organized mechanical stress & density gradients pattern tumors in vitro & in vivo, and this behavior is quantitatively predicted by a mechano-chemical active fluid model!
Check out Carlos' thread ⬇️
Reposted by David Brückner
The @crick.ac.uk is recruiting Early Career Group Leaders
- Lab set-up, research costs, salaries for up to 5 researchers
- Support for up to 12 years
- Access to our core facilities
- Competitive salary
- Fantastic colleagues
- All areas of biology
Deadline 27 Nov
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
- Lab set-up, research costs, salaries for up to 5 researchers
- Support for up to 12 years
- Access to our core facilities
- Competitive salary
- Fantastic colleagues
- All areas of biology
Deadline 27 Nov
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Early career group leaders
We appoint researchers from across biology and biomedicine to set up their first groups at the Crick.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 10, 2025 at 8:20 AM
The @crick.ac.uk is recruiting Early Career Group Leaders
- Lab set-up, research costs, salaries for up to 5 researchers
- Support for up to 12 years
- Access to our core facilities
- Competitive salary
- Fantastic colleagues
- All areas of biology
Deadline 27 Nov
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
- Lab set-up, research costs, salaries for up to 5 researchers
- Support for up to 12 years
- Access to our core facilities
- Competitive salary
- Fantastic colleagues
- All areas of biology
Deadline 27 Nov
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...