The Fly Board is excited to announce the second cycle of FlyCROSS (2025–2026), following a successful launch in 2024. The goal of FlyCROSS is to empower early career Drosophila researchers by connecting them with mentors who can help them fly in their careers – whether in academia or beyond.
Through FlyCROSS, early career scientists in the Drosophila community will be paired with an experienced mentor who will help them navigate the world of fly research with ease. Designed to prioritize the needs of mentees by matching them with mentors of their preferences, the program offers seasoned researchers an opportunity to share their knowledge and pay it forward by supporting scientists who are seeking guidance and fresh perspectives. The program consists of three parts: the mentor survey, the mentee survey, and matching.
We are currently seeking mentors. Scientists with experience in Drosophila research, includingpostdoctoral researchers, faculty members, and those in equivalent roles across diverse scientific career paths are eligible to serve as mentors and invited to complete the Mentor survey by July 14. The mentor survey will gather important details about your areas of expertise and personal career journey. We’re looking for mentors from all career paths—academia, industry, biotech, science communication, policy, and more—who have experience with Drosophila research and are eager to support the next generation of fly scientists. (If you have earned a PhD and are currently involved in any scientific career path and have experience working with fruit flies as a model system at any stage of your career, we encourage you to volunteer to support the next generation scientists)
The prospective mentee survey will be open July 21 through September 1 and will collect in-depth information about the type of mentorship each mentee is seeking. Early-career scientists including graduate students, postdoctoral researchers working in fly labs or equivalent settings, and pre-tenure faculty leading Drosophila research groups are eligible to participate as mentees.
Mentees will review the list of available mentors and their responses, with the option to indicate their preferred mentors. After receiving mentee submissions, the FlyCROSS Committee will carefully review the preferences and finalize pairings, ensuring an optimal match between mentors and mentees. Matches will be announced by October. Incase of any queries reach out to dmelcross@gmail.com. FlyCROSS was adapted from a similar mentoring program running in the worm community, and we sincerely appreciate their support of our endeavor.
A fever dream of science and spirit wrapped in the forests of Bohemia. Here’s an escalating list — starting with the standard (though nothing was standard about this) — and spiraling toward the legendary. This was what made Woodstock.Bio² & Night Science the most unforgettable conference of its kind (there is no such kind).
What We Had:
· Scientists across all career stages — from undergrads to full professors (yes, there was one undergrad! He’s ahead of his time).
The people. Each and every participant of this meeting.
In retrospect, being forced to choose a walk-up song might have been one of the most brilliant conference design decisions. It pushed us out of default mode, pipetted creativity and humor into the air, and made each session feel more like a show than a slot.
And because everyone was “performing” just a little — rethinking how to present their science in a more human, fun, or offbeat way — we found ourselves better able to stay tuned to ALL talks, even when they spanned wildly different disciplines. There was something about the levity and variety that made us listen more deeply.
Even the hashtag had a story. We used #TCTeAC on BlueSky – a compact string chosen as shorthand for #TheConferenceToEndAllConferences. It’s an acronym of the full phrase, but we also loved how it resembled a DNA sequence or binding motif. In a way, it was a motif — one you had to chant silently each time you typed it out.
TCTeAC… The Conference To end All Conferences…
TCTeAC… The Conference To end All Conferences…
But maybe it wasn’t just the events. It was the environment. Once a space was created where it felt safe — and common — to laugh, to question, to try weird things, to fail publicly, to be human — everything else followed. For all of us, as a collective.
People stepped out of their academic armor. Speakers forgot their next line, slides froze, and the crowd cheered. Honest dialogue blossomed. Ideas were born not just during talks, but on trains, under canopies, beside the fire.
“This project? It started with a chat on the train to the woods during Woodstock.Bio².”
Already thinking about the next one? The only spoiler I would give is that less than 24 hours after the ending of the meeting, the instigators and bohemian fixers were already conspiring on ideas for the next meeting. Needless to say the ideas are beyond imagination and bigger than life.
My talk in the first session was accompanied by a local bass guitarist:
* Thank you Patric! You rock! (and roll…)
We had a huge amount of exciting talk across a broad range of scientific fields:
The final location was a YMCA campsite at Southeast Central Bohemia:
But most importantly, we were strict with time, if a speaker went overtime and would not leave the stage – we took care of that, to keep the tight schedule of the meeting:
* This act was coordinated with the speaker ahead of time (in other words… just a joke).
This is part of the ‘Lab meeting’ series featuring developmental and stem cell biology labs around the world.
Lab introduction
Mariana S. Silveira: I am the head of LINDes, my current laboratory established in 2023. Prior to that, I shared another research space, the Neurogenesis Lab, with colleagues and my former advisor, Dr. Rafael Linden. I held the position of Associate Professor at the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, part of the Center for Health Sciences at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Notably, this institution is the first university founded in our country, previously known as the University of Brazil, and our Institute is now approaching its 80th anniversary. In Brazil, this represents an esteemed and traditional institution, as our country is relatively young. Our Institute’s Program of Biological Sciences–Biophysics, one of the first doctoral programs in Brazil, has a history spanning 62 years.
The lab is in Rio de Janeiro and our city boasts unparalleled natural beauty and a vibrant cultural scene.
Research summary
Our current research focuses on leveraging advancements in retinal development and cell reprogramming to explore potential therapeutic strategies for vision loss. Specifically, we focus on retinal ganglion cells, the projection neurons of the retina, working in collaboration with both Brazilian and international research groups. Additionally, we are investigating the retinal microglia in a collaborative project aiming to design innovative tools employing machine learning for morphological categorization.
Lab roll call
José Nilson dos Santos – He’s been the go-to technician ready to help anyone in the lab ever since the lab head was a PhD student in the Neurogenesis Lab. Always there to tackle any kind of problem, it’s awesome to have him around!
Mariana S. Silveira – Associate professor and lab head. Honestly, leading this fresh and young team is both a challenge and a joy. My goal is to put all my energy into making sure they have a productive and happy experience in the lab.
Viviane Oliveira Valença – Postdoctoral researcher, Viviane serves as my right hand. Having recently completed her PhD; she is currently assisting in training the group and moving forward some new collaborations while finalizing manuscripts. Her presence is truly invaluable to the lab.
Daianne Torres – A combination of lab manager and technician, Daianne is consistently available to address both administrative and technical challenges.
Isabel Guedes Ferreira – A highly skilled Master’s student currently focusing on the study of retinal microglial morphology and the development of computational tools to enhance and optimize these analyses.
Bernardo Benincá – He has recently started his Master’s program, where his research project focuses on stimulating the reprogramming of Müller glial cells in vitro through the overexpression of transcription factors.
Kauã Mourão – An undergraduate student in Biological Sciences who joined the lab as a trainee in 2024. He is currently exploring various techniques to evaluate the potential for reopening the window of retinal ganglion cell generation and the synaptic integration of newly formed neurons.
Victoria Mattos – An undergraduate student in Biomedical Sciences who joined the lab in 2024. She is currently acquiring the essential foundational techniques needed to initiate her own project. Presently, she assists other students with their work and participates in routine laboratory activities.
Camila Barbosa – An undergraduate student in Microbiology and Immunology who joined the lab in 2024 and is currently enhancing her technical skills.
Loreena Klein – A PhD candidate who has recently joined the laboratory after completing her Master’s in the field of pain regulation, is currently investigating the regenerative potential of Müller glial cells for the generation of retinal ganglion cells in vivo.
Roberto Matias – An undergraduate student specializing in Biophysics, Roberto contributes to Isabel’s research by assisting in the morphological analysis of microglial cells across various functional states and investigating their correlation with neurodegenerative processes.
Talia Pontes – An undergraduate student in Biomedical Sciences, has recently joined the laboratory with the intention of pursuing a graduate program in the future.
Top row, from left to right: Jose Nilson, Daianne, Bernardo, Isabel, Kauã, and Roberto. Bottom row, from left to right: Loreena, Viviane, Mariana, Camila, Victoria and Talia.
Favourite technique, and why?
Mariana: In my opinion, microscopy remains an invaluable tool, particularly with advancements in resolution and the ability to detect multiple antigens simultaneously. This approach provides precise in situ information when combined with cell morphology, defining in a remarkably accurate way, cell identity within tissue. Nevertheless, employing a combination of various methodologies is always the optimal strategy. Recently, I have also become fascinated by scRNA-seq as a very relevant tool.
Mariana, apart from your own research, what are you most excited about in developmental and stem cell biology?
Mariana: The emerging field of organoids and assembloids, particularly for investigating early stages of brain development and the underlying mechanisms of diseases, is truly captivating.
Mariana, how do you approach managing your group and all the different tasks required in your job?
Mariana: I must admit it’s not an easy task. My approach involves holding regular meetings with the team, where we not only discuss relevant literature related to our projects and related fields but also hold individual and group follow-ups to review the goals set for each member. Despite time being limited, I always keep my office door open for them.
What is the best thing about where you work?
Mariana S. Silveira – Although science funding in Brazil remains quite limited, which makes competing for international grants an essential challenge, I truly appreciate working at such a prestigious institution. Here, we are often supported and encouraged to strive for quality and excellence, especially in training the next generation of researchers. While the number of young individuals pursuing this demanding career is gradually declining, it’s rewarding to discover talented individuals and witness their scientific growth and development. Celebrating small achievements serves as a motivation to keep moving forward.
Viviane Oliveira Valença– We are at one of Brazil’s top universities, which is definitely the highlight for me, as numerous scientific contributions are made here. Even though we lack good infrastructure, safety, and other resources, being inside the university and surrounded by students from different fields fosters interaction and knowledge exchange.
Daianne Torres – The best thing about our workplace is the people who make up our lab. Even when we’re stressed about failed experiments, having supportive and caring teammates always makes the effort worthwhile.
Isabel Guedes – The best thing about our lab is the camaraderie and sense of community. We genuinely look out for each other, and that support makes even the hardest days a lot easier to get through.
Bernardo Benincá – It is the people. The scientific environment is challenging and can often be frustrating, but we take great pride in the quality of the work we produce despite numerous hardships and limited funding. Another important factor is how we always support each other, creating a welcoming and inclusive space. It’s an honor to be part of our lab.
Kauã Mourão – The people. They are not only my lab group with whom I talk about research and papers, but also my friends whom I know I can count on in this crazy work routine. It is really great to share my workspace with them because I learn more every day. They are truly skilled at what they do.
Victoria Mattos – It’s all about the connections we build with people and what we learn. Joining the lab helped me grow, both as a student and as a person. Being part of this environment and contributing to our research is very rewarding.
Camila Barbosa – The great thing about working in this lab is the constant exchange with the whole team, which always helps me learn something new, whether during experiments or in our meetings. Outside the lab, we have the privilege of being close to renowned professionals, and we get to attend various lectures and conferences, which also helps broaden our scientific perspectives.
Loreena Klein – The best thing about where I work is the strong sense of community. Everyone is very supportive and willing to help, which has made a big difference for me as a new PhD student adjusting to the environment.
Roberto Matias – I can say for sure that the best thing about where I work is the patient, dedicated and fun people who guide me in everything I need to learn, whether they are colleagues or teachers. The Institute is a peaceful and friendly place capable of comforting anyone in difficult times.
Talia Pontes – Honestly, the best thing about working here is getting to learn hands-on lab techniques from experienced researchers right at my own university. Plus, it feels great to know I’m helping push the boundaries of retinal studies.
What’s there to do outside of the lab?
Mariana S. Silveira – Besides enjoying the quiet pleasure of reading a captivating romance, I’m a big fan of Brazilian music. I enjoy attending live shows and participating in groups that use samba school instruments to explore the diverse rhythms of our rich musical culture.
Viviane Oliveira Valença – Here in Rio de Janeiro, there are plenty of things to do outside the lab, such as hiking in various places where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the city. Besides that, you can go to the beach, soak up the sun, and spend quality time with friends.
Daianne Torres – During my free time, I enjoy curling up on the couch with a good TV series to unwind or diving into the pages of a new book to escape into a world of fantasy.
Isabel Guedes Ferreira – Outside of the lab, I like to unwind by reading, playing games, and spending time with my friends. It helps me recharge and keep a healthy balance.
Bernardo Benincá – Sometimes it is important to take a break from the routine and do things to relax. Hobbies like watching movies, reading, playing video games, going out with friends, or simply going to the garden and looking at the trees.
Kauã Mourão – We are talking about Rio, so I must mention the beaches! They are amazing! There is nothing better than heading to the sea and unwinding from everything.
Victoria Mattos – Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending my time with my family and friends, it’s always a lot of fun to be surrounded by good people in a nice place. I like to go to the beach, enjoy samba and visit new restaurants.
Camila Barbosa – In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends, going hiking, connecting with nature, watching series, and reading.
Loreena Klein – Outside of the lab, I love spending time with my friends, whether we’re going out or just hanging out together. I also enjoy staying home and watching some TV shows, which help me relax and recharge.
Roberto Matias – Rio de Janeiro offers many interesting activities, such as modern museums, restaurants with unique and exotic cuisine, and adrenaline-pumping amusement parks. With such a beautiful city full of activities and people, it is impossible to decide what to do.
Talia Pontes – Outside of the lab, I enjoy watching movies, reading, and spending quality time with my family. I also dedicate time to studying extracurricular subjects and learning new languages—currently, I am studying Spanish.
The recent Special Issue from Journal of Cell Science focussed on the cell biology of mitochondria. To showcase some of the research in this issue, FocalPlane and MITOtalks have teamed up to host a webinar on Thursday 3 July at 16:00 BST (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT, 08:00 PDT). MITOtalks organisers Nuno Raimundo and Sjoerd Wanrooij have invited Yuli Buckley, Mireia Nager and Dikaia Tsagkari to present their research.
Prof. Caren Norden (@nordenlab.bsky.social) appointed Darwin Professor of Animal Embryology in the Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Júlia Peloggia de Castro (@jupeloggia.bsky.social) awarded the Behrensen – Guzmán Palma Award for the most outstanding research paper by a predoctoral student at Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
Special thanks to Maddie Ryan, Charli Corcoran & Michaela Noskova Fairley for putting this digest together! If you would like to thank the Zebrafish Rock! team for their time & effort, you can buy us a strong cuppa at the link below. Every little bit keeps us caffeinated and motivated! We appreciate your support 🙂
Do you have news, jobs or research that you want to add to the next digest but don’t have a social media account? Use the submission form at our website below:https://linktr.ee/zebrafishrock
Our July webinar features three early-career researchers working on early embryogenesis and will be chaired by Development’s Executive Editor, Alex Eve.
André Dias (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) ‘Opposing Nodal and Wnt signalling activities govern the emergence of the mammalian body plan’
Nikhil Mishra (Institute of Science and Technology Austria) ‘Geometry-driven asymmetric cell divisions pattern cell cycles and zygotic genome activation in the zebrafish embryo’
At the speakers’ discretion, the webinar will be recorded for viewing on demand. To see the other webinars scheduled in our series, and to catch up on previous talks, please visit: thenode.biologists.com/devpres
In this SciArt profile, we find out more about Henning Falk, who did a PhD in developmental biology, and now enjoys creating science-related cartoons as a freelancer.
[Click on the images to view the full-size versions of the cartoons]
Can you tell us about your background and what you work on now?
I studied molecular biotechnology and completed my PhD at EMBL Heidelberg, where I focused on somitogenesis in mouse embryos. Microscopy has always been my favorite technology, and during my PhD project, I developed a method to live-image mouse embryo development for up to three days. After finishing my PhD, I left research and transitioned from microscope development to CNN-based image analysis, and eventually to intelligent document processing using large language models. I currently work as a project manager for a company that builds document processing solutions. Creating cartoons for science communication serves as my connection back to my former researcher self.
The cartoon was done for German BioImaging (GerBI-GMB) to illustrate the enabling power of research data management (RDM)
Were you always going to be a scientist?
No, my early career ideas went all over the place, though they did include both biologist and artist – sometimes leaning more toward one, other times toward the other. Now I’m a customer AI project manager – life certainly takes surprising turns sometimes.
Yes, absolutely. In kindergarten, I gave myself the self-imposed task of drawing one picture every day to bring home. During primary school, I was a regular participant in local painting competitions. Later, I focused more and more on cartoon drawing – I’m not really sure why, but somehow it stuck with me.
This cartoon is part of a series of post cards raising awareness for the work of the NFDI4BIOIMAGE consortium. Published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
What or who are your most important artistic influences?
My biggest influences are other cartoonists who manage to convey their message – their joke – in just one simple drawing and a sentence or two. For me, that’s the real essence of good cartoons: condensing a story so drastically that one image is enough to give you the background story, introduce the characters, and deliver a punchline. It’s pretty remarkable. Ralph Ruthe and Joscha Sauer (maker of “Nichtlustig”) are two German cartoonists I find quite inspiring and funny.
Does your science influence your art at all, or are they separate worlds?
I started creating scientific cartoons for friends and colleagues when I was still working on my PhD, and I also used drawings in my own presentations to illustrate my results and theories. I received a lot of positive feedback. A few years ago, I began doing scientific cartoons and illustrations as a freelancer. So today, it’s not my science influencing my art, but rather the science of my “clients.” I find it tremendously fun to work together with researchers to figure out exactly what message they want to convey and how to transform that abstract concept or complicated experimental result into a simple drawing. It’s a tug of war between completeness and simplicity, and sometimes we go a long way together – from a page-long list of detailed sub-results to nailing down the 2-3 main takeaway points that fit into one cartoon. This is where my background in science, my love for cartoon drawing, and my project management skills come together nicely. Voilà!
Figure for a publication depicting the challenges bio imaging scientists are faced with. Proper handling of large-scale, complex data is a challenge for researchers, data providers and users. https://f1000research.com/articles/11-638
I just finished a project for a psychologist, and before that, there were several projects in biological data management. As for what comes next, I don’t know yet.
This figure was created for a talk by Christina Derksen as basis to talk about the best practices for the development of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) in medicine by highlighting the most common pitfalls.
How/where can people find more about you?
I have a small website advertising my services and showcasing some of my recent projects. It’s falk-illustrations.de.
As mammals, we like to think of ourselves as dominant animals, and to some extent, that is true. Humans, specifically, have altered nearly every part of our planet and reshaped the climate. We’ve domesticated cattle and chickens for food and bred cats and dogs for pets. We exterminate countless other species across the tree of life. Yet, we and our mammalian relatives were not always in control, and throughout life’s history, our influence has ebbed and flowed.
Dr. Caleb Gordon, a paleontologist in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at Yale University, spent several years unraveling a dynamic tale that began 300 million years ago. At that time, “the biggest animals on land were our ancestors—the sprawling, sharp-toothed cousins of mammals, and the biggest animals in the oceans were giant armored or fleshy-finned fishes,” Caleb speaks enthusiastically. “The earliest reptiles appeared around this time too,” he introduces them with a smile. “Reptiles are a big, quirky family with lizards, crocodiles, turtles, dinosaurs, and birds. They include many other species, both living and extinct, that descended from an ancient common ancestor. Reptiles were diminutive little creatures in a world dominated by bigger, scarier animals who probably ate them whenever they found them.” On land, reptiles lived in the shadows of large mammal ancestors, eating insects and other small prey. They were not thriving in the oceans either, where various big fish were the top predators.
Then, some 50 million years later, a sudden surge of volcanic activity and environmental upheaval transformed the landscape and the plot. “The Great Dying, we call it, triggered the worst mass extinction in the history of animal life, around 252 million years ago,” Caleb explains in a more serious tone. “Up to 95% of species were wiped out, and almost anything bigger than a modern-day deer – gone.” But reptiles were lucky. In the aftermath, they thrived, both in aquatic and terrestrial arenas. In their “glow-up era – the Age of the Reptiles,” they became the new top predators on land and in the oceans.
Back in the present day, I sit in a local New Haven coffee shop with Caleb as he draws an evolutionary tree in his notebook. He shows me when reptiles and mammals first evolved and how they have competed throughout Earth’s history. “It’s hard for many of us, at least here in the northeast U.S., to imagine encountering big reptiles today. If we hike through a national park or drive through our local neighborhood, most of the big animals we’ll see are mammals — deer, cows, bears, dogs, wolves, coyotes, and especially humans. And if we swim in the cold coastal waters, most of the big animals we’ll see are sharks, bony fish, or whales,” he says. For his dissertation, Caleb explored a different landscape. He wanted to understand how, in the aftermath of the Great Dying, reptiles managed to win both on land and in sea as the Age of Reptiles began.
“There is an underappreciated role for the evolutionary innovations that helped reptiles win,” he explains. By evolutionary innovations Caleb means “complex features they evolved that allowed them to do new things and invade new environments after the Great Dying.” Such traits appear randomly, and on rare occasions, favoured their survival in certain circumstances. Little by little, through small changes over many years and generations, these beneficial traits became long-lasting innovations in reptiles.
To transition to water and survive the rough seas, reptiles needed special evolutionary innovations. “Marine reptiles were, over the course of millions of years, able to change the dimensions of their arms to create their own flippers. They did this by making their hands much longer while shortening their lower arm bones.” Caleb demonstrates by shrugging his shoulders close to his ear, squeezing his arms by his body, while extending and flapping his hands out. “Reptiles were able to do this quickly and easily, a bunch of times, in a bunch of different groups. But in mammals and their ancestors, flippers didn’t appear for another 200 million years.” At this broad time scale, mammals were worse at making flippers, and it rarely happened. While flippers evolved some eight to ten times in reptiles, they only evolved four times in mammals. In part because of their flippers, some aquatic reptiles evolved to become massive creatures that could now prey upon the biggest sharks.
To thrive on land, one group of reptiles managed to shape their skulls to catch big prey,” Caleb says with a smile, “imagine, a T. rex, the biggest meat-eating animal that ever walked the Earth, or its relative, the modern-day saltwater crocodile, which has one of the strongest bites among all living animals today.” To become terrifying carnivores, terrestrial reptiles needed to open their jaws wide, snap it shut quickly, and bite down hard, destroying their prey before it escaped. Caleb demonstrates this by cupping his hands open and shut like a clamshell. But nature gives and takes, and powerful jaws tend not to open as wide or bite down as fast, while nimble and lightweight jaws open wide, but usually fail to bite down as hard. Reptiles managed to overcome these limitations, Caleb explains, by “changing the architecture of their jaw muscles.” Shortly before the Great Dying, some transformed their tiny deep jaw muscles into massive ones that could open wider while maintaining a powerful bite. These reptiles were the ancestors of dinosaurs. They ate bigger prey, became fearsome land predators, and reached a new level of carnivory.
Reconstructing such details of a distant past is not easy. “Studying the evolution of ancient reptiles is tricky. We rely on scarce fossil records they left behind, and the vast majority of them left no trace at all.” To make these discoveries, Caleb does some of the classic paleontology work you may envision from the movies. He sifts through ancient bones at the Yale Peabody Museum and precisely records lengths, widths, heights, and depths. With these, he built the largest dataset of its kind: around 16,000 measurements from over 800 museum specimens, representing both living and extinct species, across hundreds of millions of years of evolution.
Caleb Gordon collecting data at the Yale Peabody Museum. Here, he measures an arm bone of an ancient marine reptile that lived during the Jurassic Period, over 140 million years ago.
“But these classic methods can only get you so far. To understand all of these fossils, and all this information, we need to use modern techniques and technologies.” He feeds his masses of data into a machine-learning algorithm to compare competing stories of whether extinct species occupied land, water, or both, and predict which scenario was most likely. Given the nature of the data, Caleb had to introduce a statistical method first devised by the US Navy, and almost never used to study fossils. “We also adapt 3D computer animation programs, the same software used by Pixar and Marvel Studios, to ‘repair’ and ‘un-crush’ fossils so that they look more like they would have when the animal was alive,” he explains. These approaches let us recraft ancient structures that are unseen in modern life. With these methods, Caleb can tell which past aquatic and terrestrial reptile stories are likely true.
3D skull segmentation in action.Caleb segments a skull bone of a Euparkeria, a close relative of crocodilians and dinosaurs.
Caleb’s work recreates scenes from prehistoric times of life forms fighting for their existence. His PhD advisor, Dr. Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, emphasizes, “Caleb’s research represents a series of fundamental advances in our understanding of the lives of ancient organisms.” These ancient organisms, the diverse family of reptiles, flew, crawled, swam, and roamed. Through luck and remarkable evolutionary innovations, they managed to conquer two vastly distinct environments and replace our ancestors at the top of the global food chain…at least for a while.
This work was supported by training from Carl Zimmer, and feedback from Zili Shen at the Yale University Graduate Writing Lab.
Recently, I attended ‘Shaping Life 3’, the quadrennial meeting of the French Society of Developmental Biology (SFBD). The first of these meetings happened in 2016: that’s where my current PI presented his work, with the excitement reaching me through my lab mates back then, who attended the meeting. Since then, attending these meetings has been on my bucket list. The second iteration took place late into the pandemic (2021), at a time when I still wasn’t feeling courageous enough to resume attending conferences: I guess, better late than never.
The meeting took place in the picturesque town of Cassis, famous also for its wine and the local vineyards. This was a bit of a homecoming meeting for me: I did my PhD in Marseille, a few kilometers from the meeting venue. My PhD institute, IBDM (Developmental Biology Institute of Marseille), being one of the organizing partners, there were many familiar faces in the meeting, showcasing their science.
Being a developmental biology conference, I felt more at home than ever. The international membership of SFBD was also reflected in this conference, with many participants coming from abroad, including outside Europe. The conference showcased the-latest-and-greatest in classical model systems as well as emerging ones, and covered topics from the origin of multicellularity to the development of the distributed central nervous system in Octopus. The diversity of the topics covered in the meeting was only rivalled by the diversity of the organisms, with 2 full sessions on ‘Evo-Devo and Emerging models’. In my opinion, this also mirrors a shift in the field of developmental biology, where doing experiments in non-model systems is becoming mainstream, with comparative analysis across multiple species gaining traction. It felt like the future – where such studies are included in more classical sessions like ‘morphogenesis’ – is closer than ever.
Exceptionally, only a quarter of the talks were from invited speakers; the rest were selected from submitted abstracts, with many of the speakers traveling from abroad, like me. This is the largest proportion of ‘selected talks’ I have seen. Naturally, this means more effort on the organizers’ side, going out of their way to do the difficult job of rejecting abstracts for oral presentation. Personally, I also appreciated that many speakers showed a lot of unpublished results; posters also had a similar ubiquity of unpublished/preprinted results: a welcoming sign to see preprinting becoming commonplace.
A highlight of the conference was the SFBD PhD prize seminar, by Gabriela Poliacikova, who walked us through the unusual function of Hox genes and their cofactor M1BP in Drosophila flight muscle development, during adult stages (see her publication here). She masterfully conveyed the excitement in her PhD project: reflected in the roaring applause that followed her talk.
In conjunction with all the science, we also had a Career Development session, especially for Early Career Researchers, with a lot of discussions on the uncertainties and anxieties associated with the current job market and how to navigate them. Our group decided to hold this session on the beach, chatting with Eve Seuntjens and Wolfgang Keil. Both of them have had exceptional experiences, with Wolfgang emphasizing the importance of widening our areas of expertise, and Eve advising us not to give up on our dreams (see also her interview on the Node).
Being a recent member of SFBD, I was also looking forward to the ‘General Assembly’ meeting during the conference, though with a bit of apprehension: I only know ‘survival-French’ – fading progressively in the backdrop of exposure to German – and wasn’t sure if that would be enough to follow discussions without bothering someone for help with translation. To my surprise, this session was in English, and to my ignorance, it has been so already since the previous few iterations (including the presentation slides): a clear sign that (at least) the community of French Developmental Biologists is steadfast in welcoming international participants, especially in the current turbulent times.
The meeting also struck a nice balance between intense scientific sessions and free time to digest it all. By the end of the meeting, many participants, including me, felt overwhelmed by the flood of information, rescued only by the walks on the beach and small excursions to the Calanques nearby. With minor exceptions, the weather was on our side, with plenty of sunshine and fresh Mediterranean breeze. The Welcome cocktails and Gala dinner on the rooftop of the conference venue were a welcome nicety enjoyed by everyone.
In case you missed it, the building on the left (the one with all the flags) was the conference venue. (4 votes) Loading...
From Saturday 31.05.2025 to Friday 27.6.2025, an art gallery in Heidelberg, Germany, presents an interdisciplinary exhibition combining art and science. The exhibition features the work of Dr. Ayelen Valko, a visual artist and cell biologist who explores the cellular universe to express its beauty and mystery to the general public. Through a blend of artistic techniques, metaphor and symbolism, Ayelen makes complex biological concepts accessible and engaging. The Node previously featured Ayelen in our SciArt profile. Here, we caught up with Ayelen again to find out more about her art, motivations and experiences as a scientist in the art world.
Flyer for the exhibition at GEDOK Heidelberg, showing one of the works from the ‘Anthropo-Lysosomes’ series.
How did your interest in combining cell biology and visual art begin?
I have been painting and drawing my whole life. The natural world has always been my inspiration. My family often tells me that, as a child, I would spend hours drawing leaves and insects in my grandmother’s garden. However, it wasn’t until I began my Ph.D. program and was trained in various microscopy techniques that I realized how much artistic inspiration I could draw from microscopy images.
I have a dual background in art and science. I took several courses at the National University of Arts in Argentina, focusing on portrait and abstract painting and exploring traditional media, such as oil on canvas and acrylics. I then specialized in scientific and naturalistic illustration, developing skills in watercolor, scratchboard, graphite, and ink through courses and workshops at institutions such as the Ernst Haeckel Scientific Painting Lab, the Adumbratio Scientific Illustration Center, and Aves Argentinas.
Today, I use these and other techniques in mixed-media collages and paintings, which are mostly inspired by cell biology.
Vernissage of the exhibition.
Ayelen giving the opening speech.
Why is the microscopic universe an interesting subject for an art exhibition?
To me, understanding the biological processes that sustain life can help us to appreciate it more fully. The microscopic world holds a quiet, yet powerful kind of beauty—both artistic and philosophical. Although it is not a common theme in the arts, the complex and fragile systems that keep cells alive offer endless inspiration. This makes the microscopic universe a fascinating subject for an exhibition: it invites viewers to look closer, to discover an unseen dimension of life that is usually reserved for scientists. Through my work, I aim to capture the essence of these biological processes and bring them to life on canvas in a way that makes them more accessible to everyone. I try to show the hidden beauty of cellular landscapes as I see them, filtered through my own experiences and imagination. My paintings and collages blend scientific ideas with artistic expression, shaped by memories, emotions, and the subconscious. In essence, my work brings together biology, art, and psychology.
… it invites viewers to look closer, to discover an unseen dimension of life that is usually reserved for scientists.
Works depicting various organs, tissues, and biological processes.
What is the idea behind the exhibition?
The concept behind this exhibition is to take the viewer on a visual journey that begins with whole organisms and gradually descends into the inner world of organs, tissues, individual cells, and intracellular compartments—revealing the wonders hidden within a single cell.
To achieve this, I used a wide range of materials and techniques, including inks, colored pencils, fineliners, watercolors, oils, acrylics, and markers, working on paper, canvas, and fabric. The exhibition also features collages made from diverse materials such as thread, fabric, newspaper, tissue paper, cardboard, plastic beads, and sand—or combinations of these.
One section of the exhibition is dedicated to scientific journal covers. There, viewers can see how some of my artworks have been adapted into journal cover illustrations, and read a selection of art-and-science articles I have written for some of those publications.
As the exhibition moves into the realm of subcellular landscapes, I present two ongoing series: Anthropo-Lysosomes and Origins in Blue. These explore opposing biological phenomena—destruction and creation, respectively—through metaphor and symbolism. In both series, I incorporate anthropomorphic elements into the cellular environments. I believe this helps make complex biological concepts more accessible than they might be in more purely abstract representations.
In Anthropo-Lysosomes, I focus on the cell’s digestive compartment—the lysosome. Across the series, three anthropomorphic figures appear inside the lysosome and undergo a progressive visual degradation, symbolizing biological breakdown and psychological vulnerability. I use a variety of techniques to emphasize different facets of destruction in each piece.
The Anthropo-Lysosomes series.
In contrast, Origins in Blue zooms into the mammalian ovary, starting from the organ level and moving toward a single oocyte. Along the way, the imagery becomes increasingly fantastical, blending imagined cellular structures with emotional and symbolic layers. This series explores not only anabolism—biological synthesis—but also interpersonal relationships, particularly themes of otherness, judgment, and inherited conflict. It touches on early childhood and the entry of a new individual into a world shaped by unresolved tensions.
The Origins in Blue series.
How does your background in biology shape your artistic expression, and why do you bring personal experience into that mix?
While it is common to see art used as a tool for science outreach, such as on journal covers or in graphical abstracts, it is much less common to see the relationship reversed, with science becoming a source of inspiration for artistic creation. This inverse perspective is precisely where my work is rooted. As both an artist and a biologist, I strive to depict the beauty and mystery of the cellular universe through my own subjective lens and lived experience. Consider the Surrealists, such as Remedios Varo and Frida Kahlo: They drew inspiration from psychology and the unconscious, but they weren’t trying to educate their audience about Freud or Jung. I asked myself, “Why not use the cellular and subcellular worlds as artistic inspiration without always aiming to explain or teach science?” I believe there’s real artistic value in that approach—finding inspiration in science for expression, not just communication.
As both an artist and a biologist, I strive to depict the beauty and mystery of the cellular universe through my own subjective lens and lived experience.
What challenges have you encountered moving between the scientific and artistic worlds?
Overall, it has been a very positive experience for me. Creating cover illustrations for scientific journals and participating in science communication activities, such as giving talks in schools and running art-and-science workshops, have been deeply rewarding. I find that these kinds of projects offer clearer pathways: you can submit a cover proposal or apply to speak at an outreach event. They’re more structured and predictable ways of combining art with science.
However, finding my place in the art world has been more challenging, especially when trying to exhibit science-inspired work in galleries and museums. This path—less clearly defined—has brought me a great deal of satisfaction, but also some real obstacles.
While most people are curious and supportive, there’s still some confusion about my work. The scientific community sometimes asks me why I “paint” science instead of conducting bench research. In the art world, science is often seen as too rigid, even contradictory to artistic freedom. There’s a lingering assumption that scientists might not be flexible or imaginative enough to truly belong in the arts. The tension of working between disciplines is very real. I often feel like I belong to both artistic and scientific worlds, but also to neither.
Another challenge I face is my preference for creating handmade works rather than digital ones. This can be limiting when approaching certain institutions that focus on “sciart” but lean heavily toward digital aesthetics. They often seek pieces resembling glowing, rotating DNA holograms seen in science fiction films, not for their meaning, but for their visual effect. In those spaces, form tends to outweigh substance, and my more intimate, tactile approach doesn’t always align with the curatorial vision.
Additionally, most art residencies and exhibition programs at scientific or artistic institutions that intertwine art and science are designed for artists or scientists who want to collaborate with the other discipline, but rarely for individuals who belong to both fields.
The tension of working between disciplines is very real. I often feel like I belong to both artistic and scientific worlds, but also to neither.
The exhibition seen from the front of the gallery during a reading event by other GEDOK artists (and guest artists), as part of the organization’s ongoing cultural activities.
How did you find this art gallery and why you thought it was a good venue for your work?
I first came across the GEDOK Heidelberg gallery while walking through the city. I saw the exhibition they were showing at the time and thought it could be a good fit for my own work. So I waited for the next open call for new members, applied, and was accepted.
GEDOK is an artistic community in Germany — in fact, it’s the oldest and largest interdisciplinary network for female artists and art supporters in Europe. It brings together creators from the visual arts, music, literature, and beyond. Next year, the organization will celebrate its 100th anniversary, which speaks to its truly rich history. It has branches in 23 cities across the country, and I’m a member of GEDOK Heidelberg.
After becoming a member, I also applied for the opportunity to present a solo exhibition. A jury of artists and specialists accepted my proposal and gave me very encouraging feedback.
The exhibition was curated by Angelika Wild-Wagner and Anne Arend-Schulten, curators and artists from GEDOK, who accompanied me throughout the entire process. They helped me shape the exhibition concept and supported me during the installation. They also encouraged me to create a two-meter-long DNA sculpture that explores the theme of nature versus nurture, which is now part of the exhibition. It was a very enriching collaboration.
I also received support from Sabine Friebe-Minden, a graphic designer and fellow GEDOK artist. She developed the entire visual concept for the exhibition advertisement.
From left to right: Dr. Oliver Pajonk (a scientist and musician who provided the evening’s music), Dr. Ayelen Valko (the artist behind the exhibition), Sofie Morin (a GEDOK writer who also performed at the opening), and the curators Anne Arend-Schultenand Angelika Wild-Wagner (also GEDOK artists).
Oliver performing some of his original guitar compositions.
How has the public reacted to your work?
So far, the response has been very encouraging. The opening was well attended by a diverse audience.
Those with a scientific background often enjoy recognizing familiar cellular elements and biological processes. Some are drawn to scientific illustrations depicting different model organisms and organs, while others prefer more abstract cellular and molecular landscapes. Ultimately, it depends on each person’s interests and tastes.
Those without a scientific background tend to appreciate the works for their shapes, colors, and composition. Many engage with the idea of imagining the universe inside a cell, which opens the door to science communication and popularization.
Some visitors are also especially moved by the metaphors and symbolism. They connect with the psychological or emotional aspects of the work, demonstrating how the pieces can resonate on multiple levels.
Visitors discussing the artworks.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently looking for new venues to exhibit my work—such as scientific institutions, museums, and art galleries—and I hope to collaborate more closely with both artists and scientists.
I also plan to finish the two series I mentioned earlier and to continue exploring new biological themes in my artwork.
In addition, I’d like to engage more deeply in science outreach activities. I particularly enjoy working with schools: I’ve given virtual talks to students in Argentina, my home country, and those experiences have been especially rewarding.
As part of this outreach effort, Lis Albert, a science communicator and PhD student at Heidelberg University, and I will lead a science communication activity for high school students at the gallery. On June 23, ninth-grade students from Helmholtz-Gymnasium Heidelberg will participate in the session with their teacher, Silke Reinhardt. We will use my science-inspired art as a starting point to talk about cell biology and laboratory work.
At some point, I’d also love to connect with publishers to develop a book on art and science. It’s an idea I’ve been thinking about for a while, and one I’m eager to explore further.
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