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
SAVE THE DATE! Stoked to organize the 2026 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting with @rashmi-priya.bsky.social, @lowelab.bsky.social, and Shelbi Russell. Come learn about Biomedicine, Biomechanics, and the Biosphere, August 24-28, 2026. Registration dates, etc., coming soon! Please RT
November 19, 2025 at 8:23 PM
SAVE THE DATE! Stoked to organize the 2026 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting with @rashmi-priya.bsky.social, @lowelab.bsky.social, and Shelbi Russell. Come learn about Biomedicine, Biomechanics, and the Biosphere, August 24-28, 2026. Registration dates, etc., coming soon! Please RT
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A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.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A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.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A timelapse movie (unpublished data) from the lab.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...
Sorry wrong tag .. I definitely did NOT write this book
October 28, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Sorry wrong tag .. I definitely did NOT write this book
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...
Thank you!!! This was a fun paper to do/write. But Aren't we all just really really really old embryos anyway? 🤣😅
October 2, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Thank you!!! This was a fun paper to do/write. But Aren't we all just really really really old embryos anyway? 🤣😅
Thanks Vicky!! I hope you're doing well!
October 2, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Thanks Vicky!! I hope you're doing well!
Thanks Rikki! I hope all is well with you! 💪
October 2, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Thanks Rikki! I hope all is well with you! 💪
Thanks for the kind words, mark!!
October 2, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Thanks for the kind words, mark!!
Thanks Vinny! I hope you and yours are doing well!!!
October 1, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Thanks Vinny! I hope you and yours are doing well!!!
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.
Thanks for following along. We hope this info can be used to improve IVF procedures to increase success rates for women of all ages. Please like/RT. @eshre.bsky.social #eshrejc @bwfund.bsky.social @hhmi.org #reproductivehealth #reproductivehealth #devbiol
October 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Thanks for following along. We hope this info can be used to improve IVF procedures to increase success rates for women of all ages. Please like/RT. @eshre.bsky.social #eshrejc @bwfund.bsky.social @hhmi.org #reproductivehealth #reproductivehealth #devbiol
We stand on the shoulders of giants! Many other groups have looked at compaction metrics - like the extent of embryo "flattening" as a way to show viability. But we hoped that we could fill the gap as to whether compaction itself correlates with later implantation potential 💪
October 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
We stand on the shoulders of giants! Many other groups have looked at compaction metrics - like the extent of embryo "flattening" as a way to show viability. But we hoped that we could fill the gap as to whether compaction itself correlates with later implantation potential 💪
we heavily used the Spirochrome dyes for this paper!
October 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
we heavily used the Spirochrome dyes for this paper!
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
A profuse thank you to all collaborators - Diana Laird, @pwoakes.bsky.social , and @ricardalert.bsky.social – whose hard work really elevated our findings. Thank you to Orion, who gave me incredible freedom to explore this new research in the lab.
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
A profuse thank you to all collaborators - Diana Laird, @pwoakes.bsky.social , and @ricardalert.bsky.social – whose hard work really elevated our findings. Thank you to Orion, who gave me incredible freedom to explore this new research in the lab.
And finally, can we rejuvenate embryos to restore developmental potential? We hope yes – by tuning embryonic contractility we may find the embryonic fountain of youth to improve fertility if this holds true for human embryos.
a close up of a person 's face with the words `` i want to be forever young '' .
ALT: a close up of a person 's face with the words `` i want to be forever young '' .
media.tenor.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
And finally, can we rejuvenate embryos to restore developmental potential? We hope yes – by tuning embryonic contractility we may find the embryonic fountain of youth to improve fertility if this holds true for human embryos.