Dr Timo Kohler

Our research investigates the principles governing cell fate transitions during early mammalian development. We focus on how signalling pathways and cell-cell adhesion mechanisms cooperate to regulate pluripotency and lineage specification. Using pluripotent stem cells and stem cell-based embryo models, we examine how transitions between naïve and primed states, as well as between embryonic and extraembryonic lineages, are orchestrated at molecular and biophysical levels. Our work explores “cortex-to-nucleus” signalling, whereby adhesion complexes at the cell cortex, particularly cadherin-catenin systems, interact with pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin to couple tissue architecture and mechanical context to nuclear transcriptional control. We are especially interested in how these mechanisms guide early lineage segregation, including epiblast and trophoblast specification, and how mechanical and signalling environments collectively influence developmental trajectories and cell fate decisions.