Konstantinos Andreadis

A disorder in the alignment of elongated cells, or defect in the nematic order, can drive tissue morphogenesis. This study focuses on the multicellular orientational order in two in-vitro models derived from mouse stem cells: Gastruloids and intestinal organoids.  Gastruloids model symmetry breaking, axis elongation and germ layer formation in early stages of mammalian embryogenesis, while intestinal organoids aim to reconstitute the formation of crypts and villi of the small intestine. In both models, the interplay of cell fate and mechanics during morphogenesis is still not fully understood. Moreover, cellular organization differs, with organoids forming an epithelial shell and gastruloids forming a dense inner bulk. 

We will develop image analysis techniques to extract the orientational fields, cell velocities and other quantities from 3D dynamic microscopy images. In parallel, we will create theoretical models and simulations to validate and predict future experimental observations. Experimental conditions will be varied as well by introducing confinement and/or interfering with biochemical signals. Through this interdisciplinary joint project, we aim to understand the role of active nematics in developing tissues.

My physics journey began in 2019 with a BSc at TU Delft, concluded by a thesis on protein sequencing in the Cees Dekker lab. In 2024 I graduated with an MSc in Physics from Leiden University, specialising in biophysics research with a Casimir Pre-PhD degree. I worked on a light-sheet fluorescence microscope with Thomas Schmidt and developed an image analysis pipeline to study Septin-membrane interactions in GUVs with Gijsje Koenderink. My MSc thesis in the Silke Henkes group in collaboration with the Schmidt Lab focused on the collective migration in tumoroids, leading to a novel model of 3D cellular migration in the ECM using pair-wise defined activity.

I started my joint PhD in the Roux lab and Salbreux group in October 2024.