Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
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slefkopoulos.bsky.social
Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
@slefkopoulos.bsky.social
Senior Editor at @natcellbio.nature.com: #stemcells & development #disease #preclinical & #clinical studies | proud scientist | 🏳️‍🌈 non-binary, antisexist & liberal | 🍫 📚 🐶 🧑‍🍳 |📍Berlin | views are his own | call him Stelios
Pinned
Not the submission process, not reviewer #2, not the editor. Writing the abstract of the paper is often a far greater challenge. And there’s one simple reason for that: most people have a hard time figuring out what’s important for the reader. I ‘ll be sharing tips in next posts - stay tuned!
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
Join Springer Nature editors and the protocols.io team for an exciting event as part of #LoveMethods26!
🔮Gain insight on methods publishing at our Methods Mythbusting on Jan 22. Our editor Sabrya Carim will be there!
👉FREE registration & more details:
www.protocols.io/blog/join-pr...
Bring structure to your research - protocols.io
A secure platform for developing and sharing reproducible methods.
protocols.io
January 16, 2026 at 2:40 PM
🥂Congratulations to @nmoris.bsky.social & co for their study in our journal generating human stem cell-based trunk-like structures approximating Carnegie stage 13–14 of development. They use them to model and study the development of the thoracic and lumbar trunk.
bit.ly/3LoaXw2
Modelling co-development between the somites and neural tube in human trunk-like structures - Nature Cell Biology
Makwana, Tilley et al. generate human stem cell-based trunk-like structures approximating Carnegie stage 13–14 of development. They use them to model and study the development of the thoracic and lumb...
bit.ly
January 18, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
🎆 Happy new year and our first 2026 issue is out!
Cover: #epiblast development

👉Perspective: biological clocks
👉Review: #mitosis #CellDeath #inflammation
🔬 #chromatin #cancer #Bcells #Tcells #autophagy #organoids #mechanobiology #TranscriptionFactors #Xist & more!

www.nature.com/ncb/volumes/...
January 16, 2026 at 8:18 AM
What a lovely view to return to work to! Have I said before how much I love living in Berlin?
January 5, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Tip 4: Make it EASY. Avoid “empty” statements or fancy writing (that’s coming from sbd struggling with their fluffy writing habits). A good writer (in general and especially in science) does just one thing: makes sure every reader understands. Accurate, clean/short sentences, specific, **EASY**.
Not the submission process, not reviewer #2, not the editor. Writing the abstract of the paper is often a far greater challenge. And there’s one simple reason for that: most people have a hard time figuring out what’s important for the reader. I ‘ll be sharing tips in next posts - stay tuned!
January 5, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Tip 3: Be “conservative” (it’s the only case where I recommend it 😝). Stick to the big picture, yes, but by presenting the data that you actually have in the paper. Don’t overpromise. *Don’t present potential interpretations as results*. Don’t make a general discussion - be very specific and clear.
Not the submission process, not reviewer #2, not the editor. Writing the abstract of the paper is often a far greater challenge. And there’s one simple reason for that: most people have a hard time figuring out what’s important for the reader. I ‘ll be sharing tips in next posts - stay tuned!
January 4, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Tip 2: Ask yourself what you would like to read in an abstract of a study on an area that you ‘re not familiar with. The point of an abstract is not to show you have a lot of data nor present every new observation you made; it’s rather to help the reader get the major question and the major answer.
Not the submission process, not reviewer #2, not the editor. Writing the abstract of the paper is often a far greater challenge. And there’s one simple reason for that: most people have a hard time figuring out what’s important for the reader. I ‘ll be sharing tips in next posts - stay tuned!
January 4, 2026 at 5:17 PM
🥂Congratulations to @grazianomartello.bsky.social & co: they optimize an in vitro human #epiblast model, which they use to show that early #TGFβ family inhibition prevents epithelial identity, while it is dispensable after epithelium formation.
👉https://rdcu.be/eVPMa

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A human epiblast model reveals dynamic TGFβ-mediated control of epithelial identity during mammalian epiblast development - Nature Cell Biology
The authors optimize an in vitro human epiblast model, which they utilize to show that early TGFβ family inhibition prevents epithelial identity, whereas it is dispensable after epithelium formation. ...
www.nature.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:05 PM
🥂 Happy 2026 all! I 'm looking forward to working with as many of you as possible this year! I 'll be back in the office on Monday, so feel free to shoot emails for meetings and papers you might wanna discuss for @natcellbio.nature.com ! Let's see where #CellBiology takes us this year :D
January 3, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
@nmoris.bsky.social & co generate human stem cell-based trunk-like structures approximating Carnegie stage 13–14 of development. They use them to model and study the development of the thoracic and lumbar trunk.
bit.ly/3LoaXw2
Modelling co-development between the somites and neural tube in human trunk-like structures - Nature Cell Biology
Makwana, Tilley et al. generate human stem cell-based trunk-like structures approximating Carnegie stage 13–14 of development. They use them to model and study the development of the thoracic and lumb...
bit.ly
January 2, 2026 at 3:59 PM
3rd: conclusion/impact/implications
1 sentence is often enough; sometimes 2 are necessary. Provide a short, concise conclusion - what is the punchline? Do you have sth *important* to comment on regarding implications? Could be therapeutic implications or a finding that changes a dogma. Be specific.
2nd: the findings
The longest and main part of your abstract. Here you should explain:
i) what you did and how
ii) what you found
An effective abstract doesn’t bombard the reader with details; you can’t describe all your results. Stick to major.
*Must*: use friends from other fields as beta readers
1st: 1-2 (max) sentences - intro
Present the known and its caveat. It can be as brief as 1 sentence (we know x, but y (somehow linked to x) is unknown) or 2 sentences. My view is that abstracts with more than 2 introductory sentences rarely work well. Specific, clear, only the absolutely necessary.
December 30, 2025 at 10:50 AM
2nd: the findings
The longest and main part of your abstract. Here you should explain:
i) what you did and how
ii) what you found
An effective abstract doesn’t bombard the reader with details; you can’t describe all your results. Stick to major.
*Must*: use friends from other fields as beta readers
1st: 1-2 (max) sentences - intro
Present the known and its caveat. It can be as brief as 1 sentence (we know x, but y (somehow linked to x) is unknown) or 2 sentences. My view is that abstracts with more than 2 introductory sentences rarely work well. Specific, clear, only the absolutely necessary.
Tip 1: Follow a tight structure
There’s not only one way, but there certainly is a “safe” and always successful recipe. Your abstract consists of 3 parts:
1st: 1-2 (max!) sentences - intro;
2nd: the longest - the findings;
3rd: 1 sentence (2 could work, but often unnecessary) - wrap it up.
December 30, 2025 at 10:49 AM
1st: 1-2 (max) sentences - intro
Present the known and its caveat. It can be as brief as 1 sentence (we know x, but y (somehow linked to x) is unknown) or 2 sentences. My view is that abstracts with more than 2 introductory sentences rarely work well. Specific, clear, only the absolutely necessary.
Tip 1: Follow a tight structure
There’s not only one way, but there certainly is a “safe” and always successful recipe. Your abstract consists of 3 parts:
1st: 1-2 (max!) sentences - intro;
2nd: the longest - the findings;
3rd: 1 sentence (2 could work, but often unnecessary) - wrap it up.
December 30, 2025 at 10:48 AM
🧑‍🎄I 'm far from what they call a religious person and yet I find so much joy in celebrating Christmas. I love the lights, the decorations, the family and friends gatherings. Friends, authors, reviewers, colleagues, and wonderful readers - happy holidays everyone! See you next year 🥂
December 24, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
☕Minetti, Omrani et al. report that delayed #intestinal #regeneration results from protein homeostasis stress and can be improved by modulation of the #polyamine pathway dynamics.
bit.ly/3N38jfy
Polyamines sustain epithelial regeneration in aged intestines by modulating protein homeostasis - Nature Cell Biology
Minetti, Omrani et al. report that delayed intestinal regeneration results from protein homeostasis stress and can be improved by modulation of the polyamine pathway dynamics.
bit.ly
December 16, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
🍰Interested in reading more about the study? Here is the News & Views article written by @cterminiphd.bsky.social:
👉https://rdcu.be/eUZBi
bit.ly/4q7ozKQ
Blocking ferroptosis to expand human HSCs - Nature Cell Biology
Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are used in a variety of cellular therapies, but our ability to support these cells ex vivo remains technically challenging. A new study discovers that inhibiting ferr...
bit.ly
December 16, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
☕Sankaran (@bloodgenes.bsky.social) & co augment the ex vivo expansion potential of human #hematopoietic #StemCells (HSCs) by inhibiting #ferroptosis with liproxstatin-1 or ferrostatin-1. Treated HSCs have enhanced in vivo repopulation capacity.
bit.ly/4pEAzU9
Inhibiting ferroptosis enhances ex vivo expansion of human haematopoietic stem cells - Nature Cell Biology
della Volpe et al. augment the ex vivo expansion potential of human haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) by inhibiting ferroptosis with liproxstatin-1 or ferrostatin-1. Treated HSCs have enhanced in vivo ...
bit.ly
December 16, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
☕The composition of #ExtracellularVesicles (EVs) is central to their function, yet the field lacks systematic characterization. Here Rai et al. perform #proteomic and #lipidomic analyses of circulating human #plasma EVs and create a web tool for data exploration.
bit.ly/3N7xm0Y
Multi-omics identify hallmark protein and lipid features of small extracellular vesicles circulating in human plasma - Nature Cell Biology
The composition of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is central to their function, yet the field lacks systematic characterization. Here Rai et al. perform proteomic and lipidomic analyses of circulating h...
bit.ly
December 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
☕The authors optimize an in vitro human #epiblast model, which they utilize to show that early #TGFβ family inhibition prevents epithelial identity, while it is dispensable after epithelium formation. @grazianomartello.bsky.social
👉https://rdcu.be/eVPMa
bit.ly/4pNo2xL
A human epiblast model reveals dynamic TGFβ-mediated control of epithelial identity during mammalian epiblast development - Nature Cell Biology
The authors optimize an in vitro human epiblast model, which they utilize to show that early TGFβ family inhibition prevents epithelial identity, whereas it is dispensable after epithelium formation. ...
bit.ly
December 22, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
🚨 New paper out!
A human epiblast model reveals how dynamic TGF‑β signalling controls epithelial identity in early mammalian development
Here is the full paper: rdcu.be/eSWEs
🧵 A twittorial:
THREAD
A human epiblast model reveals dynamic TGFβ-mediated control of epithelial identity during mammalian epiblast development
Nature Cell Biology - The authors optimize an in vitro human epiblast model, which they utilize to show that early TGFβ family inhibition prevents epithelial identity, whereas it is...
rdcu.be
December 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
December 19, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
Lovely little pre-Christmas present to see this out @natcellbio.nature.com! Some 🔥 new results in here since the biorvix incl (1) a new RARE-GFP reporter ✳️🙌, (2) additional NMP quantification 🔢, (3) no neural tube patterning on RA inhibition 🙅 etc. Enjoy! 😍 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Modelling co-development between the somites and neural tube in human trunk-like structures - Nature Cell Biology
Makwana, Tilley et al. generate human stem cell-based trunk-like structures approximating Carnegie stage 13–14 of development. They use them to model and study the development of the thoracic and lumbar trunk.
www.nature.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:04 AM
🥂Congrats to Ori, Neri & co for their new Open Access study in our journal @natcellbio.nature.com showing that delayed #intestinal #regeneration results from protein homeostasis stress and can be improved by modulation of the #polyamine pathway dynamics.
bit.ly/3YhxZHC
Polyamines sustain epithelial regeneration in aged intestines by modulating protein homeostasis - Nature Cell Biology
Minetti, Omrani et al. report that delayed intestinal regeneration results from protein homeostasis stress and can be improved by modulation of the polyamine pathway dynamics.
bit.ly
December 7, 2025 at 10:32 AM
This month I complete 4 years as an editor at @natcellbio.nature.com. It’s hard to express how grateful I am for the things I ‘ve learnt, the incredible projects I ‘ve had the honor to be a part of, the wonderful people I ‘ve met in my journey so far and the very inspiring interactions I ‘ve had.
December 5, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by Stylianos Lefkopoulos (he/him)
‼️The Importance of #DiversityEquityInclusion to science by @needhibhalla.bsky.social @joann-trejo.bsky.social @marymunson4.bsky.social in @natcellbio.nature.com:
“diversity in the scientific workforce increases creativity and success in tackling challenging problems.”
Link for free: rdcu.be/eSPGH
Scaling back DEI programmes and the loss of scientific talent - Nature Cell Biology
Programmes that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in science are under attack in the USA. Data indicate that diversity in the scientific workforce increases creativity and success in tackl...
www.nature.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:24 PM