Dr Carlos Ceballos-González

The human body axis is established during the second week of gestation. At this stage, the embryonic disc is transformed to delineate the future body plan. Defects in the embryonic disc of mouse embryos have resulted in multiple body axes or congenital abnormalities. However, the mechanisms involved in human body axis formation remain elusive.
In my postdoctoral research, I investigate the origin of the human body axis using bioprinted embryo models. By combining high-resolution microscopy, transcriptomics, and gene editing tools, I dissect how alterations in the embryonic disc may influence the human body axis.
These findings will improve our understanding of human development and congenital anomalies - whose incidence is 1 out of 45 births in England. Moreover, this project will shed light on human embryo patterning and the formation of organ primordia, which will be an important step towards the generation of human organs in vitro.