Advances in Biosciences Seminar Series - Rashmi Priya, Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute, London
| Dates: | 10 December 2024 |
|---|
| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
|---|
| What is it: | Seminar |
|---|
| Organiser: | Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health |
|---|
| Who is it for: | University staff |
|---|
| Speaker: | Rashmi Priya |
|---|
|
The next speaker for the Advances in Biosciences Seminar Series is Rashmi Priya, Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute: Title: Living machines: How to Build a Functional Heart
Abstract: Organogenesis is a remarkably robust process, as it is critical for organismal growth and life. Yet, our understanding of how developing embryos reproducibly build organs with the right shape, size, and function remains limited. As the zebrafish embryo grows, to sustain its increasing physiological demands, the embryonic myocardial wall of the heart transforms into an intricate 3D architecture, composed of an outer compact layer enveloping an inner layer of multicellular trabecular ridges. How these tissue layers acquire their characteristic form suited for their function remains an open question. Combining 4D live imaging, controlled perturbations, morphometrics and theoretical modelling, we now reveal that a multiscale coupling between tissue geometry, mechanics and organ function build a functional beating heart. Trabecular cells are seeded through stochastic single cell delamination based on differences in local actomyosin tension(PMID: 33208950). Notably, this delamination is spatially constrained in the outer curvature of the heart by mechanical fracturing of the underlying extracellular matrix (ECM). Further, single-celled trabecular seeds recruit outer compact layer cells to mature into clonally heterogenous multicellular ridges, thereby amplifying cardiac contractile forces. In response, remaining compact layer cells are stretched, which impedes their further recruitment, thereby constraining trabecular ridge density. Concomitantly, Notch-dependent actomyosin dampening triggers a sharp transition in myocardial tissue area, activating rapid organ growth that expands blood filling capacity (bioRxiv 2024.07.24.604962). In this seminar, I will be discussing some of these recent findings. The long term goal of my lab is to reveal design rules underlying the emergence of robust functional organs during embryogenesis.
Brief Bio: Rashmi Priya has a diverse research background, having worked across three continents. She completed her master’s degree in India, where she was awarded competitive scholarships to study the cell biology of malaria parasites and cancer metastasis. For her PhD, she moved to Australia to join Alpha Yap’s lab, where she uncovered novel signalling pathways essential for maintaining epithelial tissue integrity in both health and disease. During her postdoctoral training in Germany with Didier Stainier, Rashmi leveraged her interdisciplinary expertise to gain new insights into cardiac trabeculation, a process vital for heart function. In February 2021, she established her lab at the Francis Crick Institute in London, where her team combines quantitative cell and tissue mechanics with developmental genetics to explore how organs are shaped during embryonic development. Rashmi has received several prestigious awards, including the BHF Early Career Award and a Wellcome Discovery Award.
Speaker
Rashmi Priya
Role: Group Leader
Organisation: The Francis Crick Institute
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Michael Smith Lecture Theatre
Michael Smith Building
Manchester
