Cell, tissue and organ development are governed by spatial and temporal processes that span scales—from molecular organization within a single cell to the mechanics of cells within and across tissues. These processes integrate multiple cues:

• Genetic: cell fate allocation and patterning of body axes, positions and boundaries.
• Molecular: signals from the extracellular matrix, lipids, metabolites, hormones and guidance molecules.
• Mechanical: forces such as blood‑flow shear and tissue stiffness, as well as acoustic/vibrational inputs.
• Environmental: light/dark and temperature cycles, nutrition, and exposure to chemicals or nanomaterials.

We study how cells sense these cues and make decisions—and what that means for development, homeostasis, regeneration and disease. Our goal is to understand these principles deeply enough to engineer them, with applications in regenerative medicine and biotechnology.

Primary models are zebrafish and medaka—transparent, rapidly developing vertebrates that reveal biology in vivo and in real time. We extend our findings to powerful complementary systems, including cell culture and mouse.

Our institute brings together experts in various fields: advanced live imaging, chemical screening, functional genomics (CRISPR‑mediated genome editing, RNA‑seq), synthetic genomics (designing custom genetic sequences), and bioinformatics/computational modelling.

• the European Zebrafish Resource Center (EZRC) --- one of just two global zebrafish stock centres worldwide --- and the Medaka Inbred Kiyosu-Karlsruhe (MIKK) panel of eighty inbred medaka lines.
• Screening centre & Imaging Hub, providing cutting-edge visualization infrastructure and expert support for complex biological systems to foster innovation with our global collaborators.