Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
@lionlchristiaen.bsky.social
Dev cell syst biol, cardiopharyngeal, coll migr, ecodevo. Dir Sars Centre, U Bergen. NIH DEV1 rev. Prof NYU Bio. Postdoc UC Berkeley. PhD CNRS/Paris XI. Agrégé. Archicube. French & American.
https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/141681/christiaen-group
https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/141681/christiaen-group
Pinned
The tunicate Ciona - Nature Methods
The ascidian tunicate Ciona, one of the closest relatives of the vertebrates, inhabits shallow temperate waters in the worldwide ocean. A unique combination of simple stereotyped embryogenesis, regula...
www.nature.com
Very happy to see this piece on the Tunicate Ciona published. Grateful to @alexandrejan.bsky.social and @chiaracastelletti.bsky.social for the Illustrations, and to @natmethods.nature.com for the opportunity to showcase our ever emerging model organism www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Interested in cell adhesion, evolution of multicellularity, or developing tools for emerging marine models?
My lab at UM is hiring a postdoc, and the application is now open:
🔗 tinyurl.com/28jvu4aa
If you know anyone looking for a postdoc, please pass this along!
My lab at UM is hiring a postdoc, and the application is now open:
🔗 tinyurl.com/28jvu4aa
If you know anyone looking for a postdoc, please pass this along!
December 8, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Interested in cell adhesion, evolution of multicellularity, or developing tools for emerging marine models?
My lab at UM is hiring a postdoc, and the application is now open:
🔗 tinyurl.com/28jvu4aa
If you know anyone looking for a postdoc, please pass this along!
My lab at UM is hiring a postdoc, and the application is now open:
🔗 tinyurl.com/28jvu4aa
If you know anyone looking for a postdoc, please pass this along!
Very happy to see this piece on the Tunicate Ciona published. Grateful to @alexandrejan.bsky.social and @chiaracastelletti.bsky.social for the Illustrations, and to @natmethods.nature.com for the opportunity to showcase our ever emerging model organism www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The tunicate Ciona - Nature Methods
The ascidian tunicate Ciona, one of the closest relatives of the vertebrates, inhabits shallow temperate waters in the worldwide ocean. A unique combination of simple stereotyped embryogenesis, regula...
www.nature.com
December 8, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Very happy to see this piece on the Tunicate Ciona published. Grateful to @alexandrejan.bsky.social and @chiaracastelletti.bsky.social for the Illustrations, and to @natmethods.nature.com for the opportunity to showcase our ever emerging model organism www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Come to be our colleague! Center of Paris, excellent facilities, research spanning the whole range of basic and biomedical life science topics, enthusiastic and collaborative colleagues, crème brûlée every Friday... What else could one want?
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Call for applications 2026 - Research
The Institut Pasteur is launching an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders leveraging cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to exploring infectious diseases, host-microbe...
research.pasteur.fr
December 8, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Come to be our colleague! Center of Paris, excellent facilities, research spanning the whole range of basic and biomedical life science topics, enthusiastic and collaborative colleagues, crème brûlée every Friday... What else could one want?
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Networks are #complex and their dynamics often look chaotic. But we can reconstruct latent spaces where their behavior becomes strikingly regular, revealing functional organization across biology, society and technology.
How? 👉 rdcu.be/eSsqn 🧪🧠🦠🧬🌐
Kudos to Andrea, @dzanc.bsky.social & Sebastiano!
How? 👉 rdcu.be/eSsqn 🧪🧠🦠🧬🌐
Kudos to Andrea, @dzanc.bsky.social & Sebastiano!
December 2, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Networks are #complex and their dynamics often look chaotic. But we can reconstruct latent spaces where their behavior becomes strikingly regular, revealing functional organization across biology, society and technology.
How? 👉 rdcu.be/eSsqn 🧪🧠🦠🧬🌐
Kudos to Andrea, @dzanc.bsky.social & Sebastiano!
How? 👉 rdcu.be/eSsqn 🧪🧠🦠🧬🌐
Kudos to Andrea, @dzanc.bsky.social & Sebastiano!
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
📢 Save the date: ERC annual conference will take place on 28 January 2026! Its theme will be ‘One Health’.
Discover the programme and register now 👉 t.co/SBat1iYccr
#OneHealth
@scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu @ecdc.europa.eu @efsa.europa.eu
Discover the programme and register now 👉 t.co/SBat1iYccr
#OneHealth
@scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu @ecdc.europa.eu @efsa.europa.eu
November 17, 2025 at 11:03 AM
📢 Save the date: ERC annual conference will take place on 28 January 2026! Its theme will be ‘One Health’.
Discover the programme and register now 👉 t.co/SBat1iYccr
#OneHealth
@scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu @ecdc.europa.eu @efsa.europa.eu
Discover the programme and register now 👉 t.co/SBat1iYccr
#OneHealth
@scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu @ecdc.europa.eu @efsa.europa.eu
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
"Research driven by curiosity - rather than by pre-defined agendas - is one of the strongest safeguards of academic freedom and democratic resilience."
ERC President Maria Leptin’s speech on #AcademicFreedom under threat couldn’t be more topical.
Speech:
erc.europa.eu/news-events/ne…#CG40Yearsrs
🇪🇺
ERC President Maria Leptin’s speech on #AcademicFreedom under threat couldn’t be more topical.
Speech:
erc.europa.eu/news-events/ne…#CG40Yearsrs
🇪🇺
December 5, 2025 at 2:18 PM
"Research driven by curiosity - rather than by pre-defined agendas - is one of the strongest safeguards of academic freedom and democratic resilience."
ERC President Maria Leptin’s speech on #AcademicFreedom under threat couldn’t be more topical.
Speech:
erc.europa.eu/news-events/ne…#CG40Yearsrs
🇪🇺
ERC President Maria Leptin’s speech on #AcademicFreedom under threat couldn’t be more topical.
Speech:
erc.europa.eu/news-events/ne…#CG40Yearsrs
🇪🇺
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
#LivingArchitectures
We put cells and cytoskeleton filaments on the architecture of the musée d'Orsay.
www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/agenda/ev...
Scientists of the #CytoMorphoLab adapted their protocols to illustrate the questions that keep them awake at night.
-> Two shows on the 24th and 25th of January.
We put cells and cytoskeleton filaments on the architecture of the musée d'Orsay.
www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/agenda/ev...
Scientists of the #CytoMorphoLab adapted their protocols to illustrate the questions that keep them awake at night.
-> Two shows on the 24th and 25th of January.
December 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM
#LivingArchitectures
We put cells and cytoskeleton filaments on the architecture of the musée d'Orsay.
www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/agenda/ev...
Scientists of the #CytoMorphoLab adapted their protocols to illustrate the questions that keep them awake at night.
-> Two shows on the 24th and 25th of January.
We put cells and cytoskeleton filaments on the architecture of the musée d'Orsay.
www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/agenda/ev...
Scientists of the #CytoMorphoLab adapted their protocols to illustrate the questions that keep them awake at night.
-> Two shows on the 24th and 25th of January.
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Current AI agent assessment for coding:
ChatGPT: absolute trash for anything but plotting
Gemini 3 (via antigravity): made nice suggestions, then proceeded to totally break the code
Claude: chatty and hit or miss, but reliably much better than others and often actually useful.
ChatGPT: absolute trash for anything but plotting
Gemini 3 (via antigravity): made nice suggestions, then proceeded to totally break the code
Claude: chatty and hit or miss, but reliably much better than others and often actually useful.
December 5, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Current AI agent assessment for coding:
ChatGPT: absolute trash for anything but plotting
Gemini 3 (via antigravity): made nice suggestions, then proceeded to totally break the code
Claude: chatty and hit or miss, but reliably much better than others and often actually useful.
ChatGPT: absolute trash for anything but plotting
Gemini 3 (via antigravity): made nice suggestions, then proceeded to totally break the code
Claude: chatty and hit or miss, but reliably much better than others and often actually useful.
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
I am taking the next few days off from writing to prepare for a Supreme Court argument. If you want to support Democracy Docket during my pause, here is there link. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
December 5, 2025 at 2:30 AM
I am taking the next few days off from writing to prepare for a Supreme Court argument. If you want to support Democracy Docket during my pause, here is there link. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm."
~ Aldous Huxley
The Tow Path at Argenteuil
🎨 Claude Monet (1875)
~ Aldous Huxley
The Tow Path at Argenteuil
🎨 Claude Monet (1875)
December 4, 2025 at 1:15 PM
"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm."
~ Aldous Huxley
The Tow Path at Argenteuil
🎨 Claude Monet (1875)
~ Aldous Huxley
The Tow Path at Argenteuil
🎨 Claude Monet (1875)
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
My student Catherine Felce will be defending her thesis @caltech.edu next week. If you're in the area consider attending; it will be a treat!
Cat's recent work:
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cat's recent work:
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
December 4, 2025 at 10:17 PM
My student Catherine Felce will be defending her thesis @caltech.edu next week. If you're in the area consider attending; it will be a treat!
Cat's recent work:
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cat's recent work:
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Congratulations to @inesfournon.bsky.social and @ruthstyfhals.bsky.social on their amazing talks at the very first BIO-Early Career Community Conference at @unibergen.bsky.social ✨ We are proud to support this fantastic initiative that brought our local community of young scientists together 👏
December 4, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Congratulations to @inesfournon.bsky.social and @ruthstyfhals.bsky.social on their amazing talks at the very first BIO-Early Career Community Conference at @unibergen.bsky.social ✨ We are proud to support this fantastic initiative that brought our local community of young scientists together 👏
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Apply for our Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs in #devbio and #stemcell research during the transition to their first group leader position: www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Application deadline: 2 February 2026.
Application deadline: 2 February 2026.
December 2, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Apply for our Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs in #devbio and #stemcell research during the transition to their first group leader position: www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
Application deadline: 2 February 2026.
Application deadline: 2 February 2026.
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Our November in #preprints list is now up on the Node!
Check it out for the latest in #devbio and stem cell research ⤵️: thenode.biologists.com/november-in-...
Check it out for the latest in #devbio and stem cell research ⤵️: thenode.biologists.com/november-in-...
November in preprints - the Node
Welcome to our monthly trawl for developmental and stem cell biology (and related) preprints. The preprints this month are hosted on bioRxiv.
thenode.biologists.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Our November in #preprints list is now up on the Node!
Check it out for the latest in #devbio and stem cell research ⤵️: thenode.biologists.com/november-in-...
Check it out for the latest in #devbio and stem cell research ⤵️: thenode.biologists.com/november-in-...
Parfois, il y a des blagues qui s’écrivent toutes seules…
Le Français Thibault Gonzales sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte
Le Français Thibault Gonzales sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte
Le Français Thibault Gonzales a été sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte lundi soir à Lyon, un titre que les chefs japonais défendent farouchement depuis plusieurs années.
f24.my
December 2, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Parfois, il y a des blagues qui s’écrivent toutes seules…
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Le Français Thibault Gonzales sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte
Le Français Thibault Gonzales sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte
Le Français Thibault Gonzales a été sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte lundi soir à Lyon, un titre que les chefs japonais défendent farouchement depuis plusieurs années.
f24.my
December 2, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Le Français Thibault Gonzales sacré champion du monde de pâté-croûte
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Presenting our Festive Ocean Art Advent Calendar!✨🎄
Each day, we’ll unveil a new artwork - 👀 Keep an eye on the calendar… your artwork might be opening a window very soon!
Thank you to everyone who entered the Festive Ocean Art Competition.
Each day, we’ll unveil a new artwork - 👀 Keep an eye on the calendar… your artwork might be opening a window very soon!
Thank you to everyone who entered the Festive Ocean Art Competition.
December 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Presenting our Festive Ocean Art Advent Calendar!✨🎄
Each day, we’ll unveil a new artwork - 👀 Keep an eye on the calendar… your artwork might be opening a window very soon!
Thank you to everyone who entered the Festive Ocean Art Competition.
Each day, we’ll unveil a new artwork - 👀 Keep an eye on the calendar… your artwork might be opening a window very soon!
Thank you to everyone who entered the Festive Ocean Art Competition.
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
🌍 Heading to #CellBIO2025 meeting @embo.org @ascbiology.bsky.social ? Join us as we continue building Planetary Cell Biology, a cross scale field - from cells to biodiversity. Sunday, Dec 7 | 8:30–9:45 AM EST
Curious? www.youtube.com/@Cells4Plane...
🌱 Join the community: forms.gle/AjQ6dVBL7QT5...
Curious? www.youtube.com/@Cells4Plane...
🌱 Join the community: forms.gle/AjQ6dVBL7QT5...
Cells for Planetary Health Community Registration Form
Following the “Integrating Cell and Planetary Scales to Address Climate Resilience” workshop held in Lisbon in April 2025, we’re launching a new community dedicated to bridging scientific disciplines ...
forms.gle
December 1, 2025 at 2:37 PM
🌍 Heading to #CellBIO2025 meeting @embo.org @ascbiology.bsky.social ? Join us as we continue building Planetary Cell Biology, a cross scale field - from cells to biodiversity. Sunday, Dec 7 | 8:30–9:45 AM EST
Curious? www.youtube.com/@Cells4Plane...
🌱 Join the community: forms.gle/AjQ6dVBL7QT5...
Curious? www.youtube.com/@Cells4Plane...
🌱 Join the community: forms.gle/AjQ6dVBL7QT5...
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.
December 1, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Some of our past surveys have revealed that early career scientists studying threatened species want their research to be useful for conservation and management policy, but they lack the policy training to make that happen.
Our paper can help!
www.southernfriedscience.com/shark-scient...
Our paper can help!
www.southernfriedscience.com/shark-scient...
Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.
Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, and accordingly many scientists who study sharks want their research to be useful for conservation. However, most scientific training does n…
www.southernfriedscience.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Some of our past surveys have revealed that early career scientists studying threatened species want their research to be useful for conservation and management policy, but they lack the policy training to make that happen.
Our paper can help!
www.southernfriedscience.com/shark-scient...
Our paper can help!
www.southernfriedscience.com/shark-scient...
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
Around 70% of the U.S. economy depends on consumer spending. As wealth concentrates in the richest 10%, the rest of America can’t afford to buy enough to keep the economy running. This is a huge problem — and even America’s most powerful CEOs are starting to sound the alarm.
Our Economy Is in Danger. Here’s Why
Robert Reich
www.youtube.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Around 70% of the U.S. economy depends on consumer spending. As wealth concentrates in the richest 10%, the rest of America can’t afford to buy enough to keep the economy running. This is a huge problem — and even America’s most powerful CEOs are starting to sound the alarm.
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
But what is the environmental status of European waters? Consult the following paper for an overview:
👇
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
👇
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 PM
But what is the environmental status of European waters? Consult the following paper for an overview:
👇
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
👇
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
✨A gut feeling you’ll love this one 🐛 The anterior midgut of a Drosophila melanogaster 🪰larva puts on a confocal glow show! 🟢 Adult midgut progenitors 🔴 Actin 🔵 Nuclei 📸Image by Sapna Krishnakumar #FluorescenceFriday #Microscopy #DevBio
November 28, 2025 at 11:07 PM
✨A gut feeling you’ll love this one 🐛 The anterior midgut of a Drosophila melanogaster 🪰larva puts on a confocal glow show! 🟢 Adult midgut progenitors 🔴 Actin 🔵 Nuclei 📸Image by Sapna Krishnakumar #FluorescenceFriday #Microscopy #DevBio
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
🩵I always think art is such a powerful outlet. Rather its photography, sketching, painting, writing-ect. What matters is you are creating or capturing something only you can. It doesn’t matter if its good or bad. Just as long as you enjoy it🩵
#Macro #naturephotography #photography
#Macro #naturephotography #photography
November 29, 2025 at 1:21 AM
🩵I always think art is such a powerful outlet. Rather its photography, sketching, painting, writing-ect. What matters is you are creating or capturing something only you can. It doesn’t matter if its good or bad. Just as long as you enjoy it🩵
#Macro #naturephotography #photography
#Macro #naturephotography #photography
Reposted by Lionel Christiaen, PhD (he/him/his)
As Movember comes to an end, the Sars team sported real (and some suspiciously fake) mustaches to raise awareness for men’s health. Huge thanks to Brandon for leading this fundraising initiative at the Centre! 🥸
November 28, 2025 at 10:41 AM
As Movember comes to an end, the Sars team sported real (and some suspiciously fake) mustaches to raise awareness for men’s health. Huge thanks to Brandon for leading this fundraising initiative at the Centre! 🥸