Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz is a Bren Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. Over the past 25 years, the Zernicka-Goetz Lab has pioneered key discoveries in early mammalian development, including the first studies of post-implantation human embryo development in vitro, insights into the origins of cell fate specification in mouse and human embryos, and the creation of first stem cell-derived embryo models using multiple stem cell types. By uncovering fundamental principles that regulate cell identity, pluripotency, and self-organization, the lab continues to advance our understanding of embryo development with broad implications for fertility, regenerative medicine, and stem cell biology.
We aim to understand mechanisms by which cells establish their identity, gain and lose pluripotency and how it relates to embryo shape and size, plasticity and self-organization. To address these questions we study mouse and human embryos and build embryo models from multiple stem cell types in vitro.
Mouse & Human Embryos
Self-Organization of Stem Cells into Embryos in vitro
Developmental Clock
Controlling Size & Shape
Cell Competition
Recent Publications
September 13, 2022
Stem cell-derived synthetic embryos self-assemble by exploiting cadherin codes and cortical tension
Nature Cell Biology
September 7, 2022
Mouse embryo model derived exclusively from embryonic stem cells undergoes neurulation and heart development
Cell Stem Cell
September 27, 2021
Human embryo polarization requires PLC signaling to mediate trophectoderm specification
eLife
September 21, 2021
Reconstructing aspects of human embryogenesis with pluripotent stem cells
Nat Commun
September 6, 2021
Modelling the impact of decidual senescence on embryo implantation in human endometrial assembloids
eLife
June 17, 2021
A single cell characterisation of human embryogenesis identifies pluripotency transitions and putative anterior hypoblast centre
Nature Communications
May 11, 2021
Machine learning-assisted high-content analysis of pluripotent stem cell-derived embryos in vitro
Stem Cell Reports
Our lab conducts research at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology
The Art of the Science
A selection of the images acquired in our lab to demonstrate the beauty of science.
Recent News
The lab joins our friends at diBBE for pastries in the South Chen Gardens!
October 10, 2024
The lab takes a break to hike the nearby Eaton Canyon Falls Trail!
September 15, 2024
Welcoming our newest post-doc, Nina, to the lab and celebrating the double birthday of Laura and Magda!
August 30, 2024
Read The Dance of Life
The Dance of Life will take you inside the incredible world of life just as it begins. It reveals the wonder of the earliest and most profound moments of early life; how we become human. Through Magda’s trailblazing research as a professor at Cambridge, you’ll learn how early life starts to take shape and discover the true beauty of life’s beginnings.