Kate Cavanaugh
@katecavanaugh.bsky.social
Migrating on my own path. Cytoskeletal enthusiast with a love for mechanics, development, and biophysical approaches. | BWF CASI Fellow with Orion Weiner at UCSF | PhD Gardel lab at UChicago | HHMI Gilliam, Ford Predoctoral Fellow Alum |
Pinned
See this? This = implanting mouse embryo. Usually this happens inside its mother and is invisible to us, but we can actually watch implantation ex vivo with the hope of understanding why implantation goes awry in embryos of older women. A 🧵...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
I'm thrilled to be able to share this new paper from post-doc Camilla Teng @xsciteng.bsky.social and our collaborators in the Leslie-Clarkson lab @emorygenetics.bsky.social on mechanisms of tissue fusion and cleft lip url: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
Actomyosin contractility and a threshold of cadherin cell adhesion are required during tissue fusion | Journal of Cell Biology | Rockefeller University Press
Teng et al. investigate the cellular basis for tissue fusion during mammalian lip formation. They demonstrate that actomyosin contractility drives fusion,
rupress.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I'm thrilled to be able to share this new paper from post-doc Camilla Teng @xsciteng.bsky.social and our collaborators in the Leslie-Clarkson lab @emorygenetics.bsky.social on mechanisms of tissue fusion and cleft lip url: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
🔬🍀
A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.
In the movie, the nucleus is moving towards the base of the polarized root hair cell.
A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.
In the movie, the nucleus is moving towards the base of the polarized root hair cell.
November 11, 2025 at 6:01 PM
🔬🍀
A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.
In the movie, the nucleus is moving towards the base of the polarized root hair cell.
A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.
In the movie, the nucleus is moving towards the base of the polarized root hair cell.
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
We built a targeted protein degradation–based system to mimic reproductive age-related aneuploidy in young eggs - revealing how chromosome errors associated with female infertility arise with age. 🧬✨
With @jiyeonleem.bsky.social and our team at Yale MCDB.
Read: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
With @jiyeonleem.bsky.social and our team at Yale MCDB.
Read: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
A versatile cohesion manipulation system probes female reproductive age-related egg aneuploidy - Nature Aging
To study pathways that lead to aneuploidy during aging, the authors provide a system that enables cohesion protein depletion in mouse oocytes, mimicking effects that occur during aging. They uncover a...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:17 PM
We built a targeted protein degradation–based system to mimic reproductive age-related aneuploidy in young eggs - revealing how chromosome errors associated with female infertility arise with age. 🧬✨
With @jiyeonleem.bsky.social and our team at Yale MCDB.
Read: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
With @jiyeonleem.bsky.social and our team at Yale MCDB.
Read: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
📣 New preprint! Stoked to share a fantastic collaboration with @campaslab.bsky.social!
We discover a unique mammalian mechanism for body axis elongation using mouse and human gastruloids, and confirm central findings in mouse embryos.
Check out the 🧵 👇
@mpi-cbg.de @poldresden.bsky.social
We discover a unique mammalian mechanism for body axis elongation using mouse and human gastruloids, and confirm central findings in mouse embryos.
Check out the 🧵 👇
@mpi-cbg.de @poldresden.bsky.social
Really excited to present the results of a fantastic collaboration with Jesse Veenvliet @jesseveenvliet.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @poldresden.bsky.social 🤩
We find a unique mechanism for body axis elongation in mammals, different from other vertebrate species
➡️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We find a unique mechanism for body axis elongation in mammals, different from other vertebrate species
➡️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 28, 2025 at 3:34 PM
📣 New preprint! Stoked to share a fantastic collaboration with @campaslab.bsky.social!
We discover a unique mammalian mechanism for body axis elongation using mouse and human gastruloids, and confirm central findings in mouse embryos.
Check out the 🧵 👇
@mpi-cbg.de @poldresden.bsky.social
We discover a unique mammalian mechanism for body axis elongation using mouse and human gastruloids, and confirm central findings in mouse embryos.
Check out the 🧵 👇
@mpi-cbg.de @poldresden.bsky.social
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
Thrilled to announce the launch of my lab
@cri-utsw.bsky.social at UTSW this January!
We will explore how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, focusing on membrane mechanics to reveal how tension and signaling work together to shape cell behavior.
@cri-utsw.bsky.social at UTSW this January!
We will explore how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, focusing on membrane mechanics to reveal how tension and signaling work together to shape cell behavior.
We're growing! Our newest Investigator @henrydebelly.bsky.social will join the CRI Tissue #Regeneration Program in January 2026. Learn more about Henry ➡️ cri.utsw.edu/faculty/henr... and 📌apply to research in his lab cri.utsw.edu/careers
October 16, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Thrilled to announce the launch of my lab
@cri-utsw.bsky.social at UTSW this January!
We will explore how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, focusing on membrane mechanics to reveal how tension and signaling work together to shape cell behavior.
@cri-utsw.bsky.social at UTSW this January!
We will explore how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, focusing on membrane mechanics to reveal how tension and signaling work together to shape cell behavior.
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding
During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...
www.biorxiv.org
October 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Happy Fluorescence Friday with this new preprint 👀
See this? This = implanting mouse embryo. Usually this happens inside its mother and is invisible to us, but we can actually watch implantation ex vivo with the hope of understanding why implantation goes awry in embryos of older women. A 🧵...
October 3, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Happy Fluorescence Friday with this new preprint 👀
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
New job, new preprint! We found that embryo implantation can be understood as active wetting! Embryos from older mothers have trouble implanting because they are too contractile and viscous. Check out the wonderful thread (and movies!) by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 2, 2025 at 8:04 AM
New job, new preprint! We found that embryo implantation can be understood as active wetting! Embryos from older mothers have trouble implanting because they are too contractile and viscous. Check out the wonderful thread (and movies!) by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
Amazingly, yes! Here, we indexed embryos, calculated compaction metrics, and selected Normal and Accelerated tempo’d embryos for later implantation assays. We find compaction metrics correlate with ultimate implantation potential – for both aged and young maternal conditions.
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Amazingly, yes! Here, we indexed embryos, calculated compaction metrics, and selected Normal and Accelerated tempo’d embryos for later implantation assays. We find compaction metrics correlate with ultimate implantation potential – for both aged and young maternal conditions.
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
Well, we also find increased contractility in the aged embryo also correlates with faster compaction at the 8-cell stage. Could this be a possible metric to see which ones will implant?
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Well, we also find increased contractility in the aged embryo also correlates with faster compaction at the 8-cell stage. Could this be a possible metric to see which ones will implant?
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
But contractility tunes cell-cell adhesion (limiting spreading) and cell-substrate adhesion (promoting spreading). Aged embryos show higher blastocyst surface tension AND higher spreading forces via Traction Force Microscopy. Weird… So how can we explain reduced spreading?
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
But contractility tunes cell-cell adhesion (limiting spreading) and cell-substrate adhesion (promoting spreading). Aged embryos show higher blastocyst surface tension AND higher spreading forces via Traction Force Microscopy. Weird… So how can we explain reduced spreading?
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
Using mouse embryos, we visualize implantation in vitro to see what’s wrong in embryo development w/ advanced maternal age. In vitro implantation assays show aged embryos do not implant as efficiently.
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Using mouse embryos, we visualize implantation in vitro to see what’s wrong in embryo development w/ advanced maternal age. In vitro implantation assays show aged embryos do not implant as efficiently.
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
A mechanical origin for implantation defects in embryos from aged females https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.29.679218v1
October 1, 2025 at 5:31 PM
A mechanical origin for implantation defects in embryos from aged females https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.29.679218v1
See this? This = implanting mouse embryo. Usually this happens inside its mother and is invisible to us, but we can actually watch implantation ex vivo with the hope of understanding why implantation goes awry in embryos of older women. A 🧵...
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
See this? This = implanting mouse embryo. Usually this happens inside its mother and is invisible to us, but we can actually watch implantation ex vivo with the hope of understanding why implantation goes awry in embryos of older women. A 🧵...
🚨 New Manuscript about to drop! 🚨 Stay tuned!
September 29, 2025 at 2:36 PM
🚨 New Manuscript about to drop! 🚨 Stay tuned!
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
A cell finding its way through the matrix, imaged with @joycemeiri.bsky.social on LLS.
September 19, 2025 at 10:38 AM
A cell finding its way through the matrix, imaged with @joycemeiri.bsky.social on LLS.
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
SCHEPHERD--the bioelectric cell herding platform built for YOU. Single cells, monolayers, organoids--this herds them all + new tricks. Plz try it-- we will *give* you parts! Teaser here of a steering a single cell. GS Yubin Lin's lifeblood with J. Yodh on piano; Celeste R. and Paul K. Thread 1/N
September 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
SCHEPHERD--the bioelectric cell herding platform built for YOU. Single cells, monolayers, organoids--this herds them all + new tricks. Plz try it-- we will *give* you parts! Teaser here of a steering a single cell. GS Yubin Lin's lifeblood with J. Yodh on piano; Celeste R. and Paul K. Thread 1/N
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
A ring of cells deforms into a triangular keyhole in just 15 minutes. Meet the hindgut, a model for boundary-driven morphogenesis!
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
September 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
A ring of cells deforms into a triangular keyhole in just 15 minutes. Meet the hindgut, a model for boundary-driven morphogenesis!
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
In another exciting development our new preprint is online:
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
This is the work of my brilliant graduate student Katerina Kourkoulou in collaboration with Maggie Liu and Arnold Mathijssen. Here is a video of the subject of our study:
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
This is the work of my brilliant graduate student Katerina Kourkoulou in collaboration with Maggie Liu and Arnold Mathijssen. Here is a video of the subject of our study:
September 18, 2025 at 6:47 AM
In another exciting development our new preprint is online:
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
This is the work of my brilliant graduate student Katerina Kourkoulou in collaboration with Maggie Liu and Arnold Mathijssen. Here is a video of the subject of our study:
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
This is the work of my brilliant graduate student Katerina Kourkoulou in collaboration with Maggie Liu and Arnold Mathijssen. Here is a video of the subject of our study:
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
Looks like I am late to this party but have exciting news. I’ve been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to study #XtrmCells! Thankful to @erc.europa.eus for this opportunity, and to my collaborators, mentors, and group for their support. Looking forward to exploring the mechanics of these cells!
September 18, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Looks like I am late to this party but have exciting news. I’ve been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to study #XtrmCells! Thankful to @erc.europa.eus for this opportunity, and to my collaborators, mentors, and group for their support. Looking forward to exploring the mechanics of these cells!
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
(1/n) The zebrafish notochord slowly builds the vertebral column of the spine over ~ 2 weeks through a process of molecular segmentation (=division of tissue into units)
September 2, 2025 at 4:47 PM
(1/n) The zebrafish notochord slowly builds the vertebral column of the spine over ~ 2 weeks through a process of molecular segmentation (=division of tissue into units)
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
Automated optogenetic control of hundreds of cells in parallel. Each cell is individually steered, collectively acting as a "tissue printer". Preprint & code out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
August 21, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Automated optogenetic control of hundreds of cells in parallel. Each cell is individually steered, collectively acting as a "tissue printer". Preprint & code out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
On cell extrusion in the #intestine!
After 80 years of observations, we finally took a deeper look thanks to 2D #organoids. We report:
3D #forces, #extrusion still only in the villus even without curvature, #lamellipodia generate 3D force.. and more. Have a look!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
After 80 years of observations, we finally took a deeper look thanks to 2D #organoids. We report:
3D #forces, #extrusion still only in the villus even without curvature, #lamellipodia generate 3D force.. and more. Have a look!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
July 4, 2025 at 10:21 AM
On cell extrusion in the #intestine!
After 80 years of observations, we finally took a deeper look thanks to 2D #organoids. We report:
3D #forces, #extrusion still only in the villus even without curvature, #lamellipodia generate 3D force.. and more. Have a look!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
After 80 years of observations, we finally took a deeper look thanks to 2D #organoids. We report:
3D #forces, #extrusion still only in the villus even without curvature, #lamellipodia generate 3D force.. and more. Have a look!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
This postdoc position is still open! Apply if you want to come work with us on asymmetric cell divisions in spiralian embryos! postdocs.stanford.edu/prospective/...
July 7, 2025 at 8:51 PM
This postdoc position is still open! Apply if you want to come work with us on asymmetric cell divisions in spiralian embryos! postdocs.stanford.edu/prospective/...
Reposted by Kate Cavanaugh
It’s #FluorescenceFriday again!
@maikbischoff.bsky.social encouraged me to post more beautiful images, so I hope you enjoy this image of Ajuba at Tricellular Junctions in #Drosophila 🪰 want to know more? Click here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
@maikbischoff.bsky.social encouraged me to post more beautiful images, so I hope you enjoy this image of Ajuba at Tricellular Junctions in #Drosophila 🪰 want to know more? Click here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
July 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
It’s #FluorescenceFriday again!
@maikbischoff.bsky.social encouraged me to post more beautiful images, so I hope you enjoy this image of Ajuba at Tricellular Junctions in #Drosophila 🪰 want to know more? Click here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
@maikbischoff.bsky.social encouraged me to post more beautiful images, so I hope you enjoy this image of Ajuba at Tricellular Junctions in #Drosophila 🪰 want to know more? Click here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...