Mari Sepp
@marisepp.bsky.social
Evo-Devo neurobiologist | Associate Prof. at Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu | SFARI Fellow | EMBO Installation Grantee | Cerebellum development: how it evolved and how it goes wrong
Pinned
We are thrilled that our study on the evolution of gene regulation in mammalian cerebellum development – led by @ioansarr.bsky.social, @marisepp.bsky.social and @tyamadat.bsky.social, in collaboration with @steinaerts.bsky.social – is now out in @ScienceMagazine! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This paper marks the end of a long but rewarding project - and the start of something new (more below👇).
Massive thanks to @kaessmannlab.bsky.social, @ioansarr.bsky.social, @tyamadat.bsky.social, our amazing collaborators @steinaerts.bsky.social, Stefan Pfister, Rüdiger Behr and the entire team! 💙
Massive thanks to @kaessmannlab.bsky.social, @ioansarr.bsky.social, @tyamadat.bsky.social, our amazing collaborators @steinaerts.bsky.social, Stefan Pfister, Rüdiger Behr and the entire team! 💙
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Hiring a PhD student! 🎓
Looking for a PhD student to work on the prediction of complex diseases by integrating genetics, multi-omics, and electronic health records. Details: genomics.ut.ee/sites/defaul...
Please share with anyone interested!
Looking for a PhD student to work on the prediction of complex diseases by integrating genetics, multi-omics, and electronic health records. Details: genomics.ut.ee/sites/defaul...
Please share with anyone interested!
genomics.ut.ee
February 9, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Hiring a PhD student! 🎓
Looking for a PhD student to work on the prediction of complex diseases by integrating genetics, multi-omics, and electronic health records. Details: genomics.ut.ee/sites/defaul...
Please share with anyone interested!
Looking for a PhD student to work on the prediction of complex diseases by integrating genetics, multi-omics, and electronic health records. Details: genomics.ut.ee/sites/defaul...
Please share with anyone interested!
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Some friends and I wrote a review with @biologists.bsky.social !! Together with Esther Becker and Simone Mayer, we explore the state of the cerebellum organoid field and offer practical guidance on getting this model system started in your own lab. journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...
Generating cerebellar organoids from pluripotent stem cells
Summary: This Special Article provides a comprehensive overview of the methods, applications and considerations for the generation of cerebellar organoids.
journals.biologists.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Some friends and I wrote a review with @biologists.bsky.social !! Together with Esther Becker and Simone Mayer, we explore the state of the cerebellum organoid field and offer practical guidance on getting this model system started in your own lab. journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...
Congrats to @urmovosa.bsky.social and the international research team behind this achievement, including colleagues at @estbiobank.bsky.social!
Preprint with the results of genome-wide eQTL analyses across 43,301 blood samples from the eQTLGen Consortium is now online! A major collaborative effort- many thanks to everyone involved, especially @robertwarmerdam.bsky.social, @ludefranke.bsky.social, and all eQTLGen collaborators!👇
🧬 New preprint alert! After years of collaborative work across 52 datasets we are presenting eQTLGen phase 2: a genome-wide eQTL meta-analysis covering 43,301 blood samples: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/8)
February 8, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Congrats to @urmovosa.bsky.social and the international research team behind this achievement, including colleagues at @estbiobank.bsky.social!
I've started my own lab 🎉
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
January 29, 2026 at 8:33 PM
I've started my own lab 🎉
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
This paper marks the end of a long but rewarding project - and the start of something new (more below👇).
Massive thanks to @kaessmannlab.bsky.social, @ioansarr.bsky.social, @tyamadat.bsky.social, our amazing collaborators @steinaerts.bsky.social, Stefan Pfister, Rüdiger Behr and the entire team! 💙
Massive thanks to @kaessmannlab.bsky.social, @ioansarr.bsky.social, @tyamadat.bsky.social, our amazing collaborators @steinaerts.bsky.social, Stefan Pfister, Rüdiger Behr and the entire team! 💙
We are thrilled that our study on the evolution of gene regulation in mammalian cerebellum development – led by @ioansarr.bsky.social, @marisepp.bsky.social and @tyamadat.bsky.social, in collaboration with @steinaerts.bsky.social – is now out in @ScienceMagazine! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 29, 2026 at 8:33 PM
This paper marks the end of a long but rewarding project - and the start of something new (more below👇).
Massive thanks to @kaessmannlab.bsky.social, @ioansarr.bsky.social, @tyamadat.bsky.social, our amazing collaborators @steinaerts.bsky.social, Stefan Pfister, Rüdiger Behr and the entire team! 💙
Massive thanks to @kaessmannlab.bsky.social, @ioansarr.bsky.social, @tyamadat.bsky.social, our amazing collaborators @steinaerts.bsky.social, Stefan Pfister, Rüdiger Behr and the entire team! 💙
Big congrats to @kmatlik.bsky.social and all the EMBO Installation Grantees 2026! 👏🎉
Congratulations and welcome to the ten scientists awarded EMBO Installation Grants 2026! 🧪
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/ten-scientists-awarded-embo-installation-grants-2026/
#LifeSciences #research #funding
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/ten-scientists-awarded-embo-installation-grants-2026/
#LifeSciences #research #funding
January 20, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Big congrats to @kmatlik.bsky.social and all the EMBO Installation Grantees 2026! 👏🎉
Reposted by Mari Sepp
TF-MINDI is out! A new method to learn cis-regulatory codes through rich embeddings of TF binding sites. TF-MINDI decomposes motif neighbourhoods, and works downstream of any sequence-to-function deep learning model. We deeply study the enhancer code in human neural development, check out the thread
January 15, 2026 at 12:32 PM
TF-MINDI is out! A new method to learn cis-regulatory codes through rich embeddings of TF binding sites. TF-MINDI decomposes motif neighbourhoods, and works downstream of any sequence-to-function deep learning model. We deeply study the enhancer code in human neural development, check out the thread
Reposted by Mari Sepp
We are looking for a Postdoc at the Center for Gene Expression in Copenhagen. Deadline for applications is the 11th of January. If you are interested in 3D chromatin, SMC complexes, and super-resolution microscopy, join us. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Postdocs at Center for Gene Expression in Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - Copenhagen, Hovedstaden (DK) job with University of Copenhagen | 12849488
We are looking for 2 or more highly motivated postdocs interested in ribosome biology, 3D chromatin organisation, or regulation of protein turnove...
www.nature.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:12 AM
We are looking for a Postdoc at the Center for Gene Expression in Copenhagen. Deadline for applications is the 11th of January. If you are interested in 3D chromatin, SMC complexes, and super-resolution microscopy, join us. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Really happy to join NeuroPSI at Paris Saclay to lead a research group funded by an ERC Consolidator grant #ERCCoG . We'll study the origins of the vertebrate brain using shark embryos. 🦈 🧠 Reach out if you are interested in joining the team 🤍
🙋♀️ We are welcoming Idoia Quintana Urzainqui to NeuroPSi as a junior Professor! In her new team, she will research the Mechanisms that shaped early vertebrate brains, thanks to funding from a 2025 ERC Consolidator grant.
➡️ Learn more here: neuropsi.cnrs.fr/en/idoia-qui...
➡️ Learn more here: neuropsi.cnrs.fr/en/idoia-qui...
December 22, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Really happy to join NeuroPSI at Paris Saclay to lead a research group funded by an ERC Consolidator grant #ERCCoG . We'll study the origins of the vertebrate brain using shark embryos. 🦈 🧠 Reach out if you are interested in joining the team 🤍
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Join us at SMBE26! We are in a golden period for understanding the evolution of gene regulation.
SMBE2026 Symposium 22 | Evolution of gene regulation: insights from novel molecular and statistical approaches
📨 Abstract submission
smbe2026.org/abstracts
📋 Programme details
smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
📨 Abstract submission
smbe2026.org/abstracts
📋 Programme details
smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
December 17, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Join us at SMBE26! We are in a golden period for understanding the evolution of gene regulation.
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Aged mice and human samples show patterned loss of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, revealing a spatial signature of ageing that may help explain why motor coordination and behaviour decline over time.
Cerebellar Purkinje cell stripe patterns reveal a differential vulnerability and resistance to cell loss during normal aging in mice
Purkinje cell subpopulations have varying vulnerability to age-related neurodegeneration, creating a striped pattern of cell loss that reflects the developmental, anatomical, and functional…
buff.ly
December 11, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Aged mice and human samples show patterned loss of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, revealing a spatial signature of ageing that may help explain why motor coordination and behaviour decline over time.
Reposted by Mari Sepp
In 2018, Tomasz Nowakowski received our Fellows-to-Faculty Award to jumpstart his new lab. We spoke with him about his research and the Fellows-to-Faculty program, which is open for apps: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/fellows-to-faculty-alum-tomasz-nowakowski-studies-human-cortical-development/
Fellows-to-Faculty Alum Tomasz Nowakowski Studies Human Cortical Development
Simons Foundation Fellows-to-Faculty alumnus Tomasz Nowakowski spoke with the foundation about his experiences with the program.
www.simonsfoundation.org
December 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
In 2018, Tomasz Nowakowski received our Fellows-to-Faculty Award to jumpstart his new lab. We spoke with him about his research and the Fellows-to-Faculty program, which is open for apps: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/fellows-to-faculty-alum-tomasz-nowakowski-studies-human-cortical-development/
Reposted by Mari Sepp
#ERCCogG granted!!! Immensely grateful for this opportunity. Thanks @erc.europa.eu . Many news coming soon. New lab opening and will be posting positions. 🦈🧠🤍 Go sharkies!
The results of the ERC Consolidator Grant call have been announced! 📣
349 researchers have been selected for funding. Congratulations to all! #ERCCogG!
👉 buff.ly/uu62uFV
#FrontierResearch #EUfunded #HorizonEurope
@scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
349 researchers have been selected for funding. Congratulations to all! #ERCCogG!
👉 buff.ly/uu62uFV
#FrontierResearch #EUfunded #HorizonEurope
@scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
December 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
#ERCCogG granted!!! Immensely grateful for this opportunity. Thanks @erc.europa.eu . Many news coming soon. New lab opening and will be posting positions. 🦈🧠🤍 Go sharkies!
Reposted by Mari Sepp
We tend to think of neurons as either excitatory or inhibitory, but some neurons chemically inhibit their downstream targets while electrically exciting their neighbors. What is gained by having an inhibitory neuron excite its neighbor?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
We tend to think of neurons as either excitatory or inhibitory, but some neurons chemically inhibit their downstream targets while electrically exciting their neighbors. What is gained by having an inhibitory neuron excite its neighbor?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Mari Sepp
JASPAR 2026 is out 🎉
The new release massively expands the TF motif collections and adds a dedicated DeepLearning collection of motifs learned from deep learning models.
Database: jaspar.elixir.no
Paper (NAR): doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
🧵1/2
The new release massively expands the TF motif collections and adds a dedicated DeepLearning collection of motifs learned from deep learning models.
Database: jaspar.elixir.no
Paper (NAR): doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
🧵1/2
JASPAR: An open-access database of transcription factor binding profiles
JASPAR is the largest open-access database of curated and non-redundant transcription factor (TF) binding profiles from six different taxonomic groups.
jaspar.elixir.no
December 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
JASPAR 2026 is out 🎉
The new release massively expands the TF motif collections and adds a dedicated DeepLearning collection of motifs learned from deep learning models.
Database: jaspar.elixir.no
Paper (NAR): doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
🧵1/2
The new release massively expands the TF motif collections and adds a dedicated DeepLearning collection of motifs learned from deep learning models.
Database: jaspar.elixir.no
Paper (NAR): doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
🧵1/2
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Claudia Feng's Ph.D work is now out, co-led with @brittavelten.bsky.social and @steglelab.bsky.social . Large-scale CRISPRi perturbations in genetically heterogenous iPSC lines, with single cell readout - enjoy :)
Happy to see this out now in Cell Genomics: A genome-scale single-cell CRISPRi map of trans gene regulation across human pluripotent stem cell lines: www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
A genome-scale single-cell CRISPRi map of trans gene regulation across human pluripotent stem cell lines
Feng et al. present the first genome-scale CRISPR interference perturbation map with
scRNA-seq readout across many genetic backgrounds in human pluripotent cells, pioneering
population-scale CRISPR pe...
www.cell.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Claudia Feng's Ph.D work is now out, co-led with @brittavelten.bsky.social and @steglelab.bsky.social . Large-scale CRISPRi perturbations in genetically heterogenous iPSC lines, with single cell readout - enjoy :)
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Deadline approaching for participating in the international Stanford Course on Neural Assembloids in spring 2026!
This is an immersive, hands-on course on generating, probing and manipulating stem cell-derived neural #assembloids and #organoids for disease and development modeling.
This is an immersive, hands-on course on generating, probing and manipulating stem cell-derived neural #assembloids and #organoids for disease and development modeling.
December 2, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Deadline approaching for participating in the international Stanford Course on Neural Assembloids in spring 2026!
This is an immersive, hands-on course on generating, probing and manipulating stem cell-derived neural #assembloids and #organoids for disease and development modeling.
This is an immersive, hands-on course on generating, probing and manipulating stem cell-derived neural #assembloids and #organoids for disease and development modeling.
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Reposted by Mari Sepp
We are looking for a postdoc to join our team! If you're interested in translating a cutting edge genomics technology (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) to real-life applications in hematology, this is for you. We offer a unique working environment ON THE BEACH: recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
November 20, 2025 at 9:36 AM
We are looking for a postdoc to join our team! If you're interested in translating a cutting edge genomics technology (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) to real-life applications in hematology, this is for you. We offer a unique working environment ON THE BEACH: recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
Reposted by Mari Sepp
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Interested in applying for our Fellows-to-Faculty Award? Watch the recording of our informational webinar for more details on the program: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/fellows-to-faculty-award/#:~:text=Brain%20(SCPAB).-,Informational%20Webinar,-An%20informational%20webinar #science
Fellows-to-Faculty Award
The Fellows-to-Faculty Award is a new iteration of the previously offered Simons Foundation Independence Awards.
www.simonsfoundation.org
November 11, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Interested in applying for our Fellows-to-Faculty Award? Watch the recording of our informational webinar for more details on the program: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/fellows-to-faculty-award/#:~:text=Brain%20(SCPAB).-,Informational%20Webinar,-An%20informational%20webinar #science
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Our intelligence and cognitive abilities are perhaps due to an expansion of our cerebral cortex. But surprisingly, compared to highly intelligent birds, primates have many more neurons in their cerebellum as compared to the cerebral cortex.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
November 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Our intelligence and cognitive abilities are perhaps due to an expansion of our cerebral cortex. But surprisingly, compared to highly intelligent birds, primates have many more neurons in their cerebellum as compared to the cerebral cortex.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Share this funding opportunity! We offer the Fellows-to-Faculty program to nurture new talent in the basic sciences and to broaden the community of scientists contributing to Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB).
Applications for our Fellows-to-Faculty Award are now open! This program supports early career scientists in #autism or #neuroscience research by facilitating their transition into tenure-track faculty positions. Apply by 1/14/2026: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/10/31/a... #science
Applications for Fellows-to-Faculty Awards Now Open
Applications for Fellows-to-Faculty Awards Now Open on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
November 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Share this funding opportunity! We offer the Fellows-to-Faculty program to nurture new talent in the basic sciences and to broaden the community of scientists contributing to Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB).
Reposted by Mari Sepp
Stoked to share our latest work entitled: “Large-scale discovery of neural enhancers for cis-regulation therapies”
shorturl.at/H3Qww
This is an enormous team effort that I had the honour of spearheading with Nick Page and Florence Chardon.
Bluetorial below.
shorturl.at/H3Qww
This is an enormous team effort that I had the honour of spearheading with Nick Page and Florence Chardon.
Bluetorial below.
November 5, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Stoked to share our latest work entitled: “Large-scale discovery of neural enhancers for cis-regulation therapies”
shorturl.at/H3Qww
This is an enormous team effort that I had the honour of spearheading with Nick Page and Florence Chardon.
Bluetorial below.
shorturl.at/H3Qww
This is an enormous team effort that I had the honour of spearheading with Nick Page and Florence Chardon.
Bluetorial below.