# bedzhov lab


## Posts

- [Divide and conquer: how are cell division, signaling and fate interlinked?](https://bedzhovlab.com/publications/): During early embryonic development, cells have to make two things happen at the same time: they need to divide rapidly to increase the number of cells, while also changing their identity and organisation to build an embryo. One of the central signalling pathways controlling this transition is the FGF–MEK–ERK pathway. ERK signalling helps embryonic cells leave the naïve state of pluripotency and progress towards more differentiated developmental states. But while studying this process, we wondered whether the cell itself—not only signals coming from outside the cell—could also influence ERK activity. To address this question, we developed a large-scale experimental approach using […]
- [How does the embryo coordinate changes in cell identity with the physical organisation of its cells?](https://bedzhovlab.com/oct4-and-sox2-keeping-embryonic-development-on-schedule/): During early embryonic development, cells need to coordinate two fundamental processes: deciding what they will become and organising themselves into tissues. These processes have to happen in the right order and at the right time. But how does an embryo coordinate changes in cell identity with the physical organisation of its cells? Two of the most famous regulators of embryonic cell identity are Oct4 and Sox2. They are best known for maintaining pluripotency—the ability of embryonic cells to give rise to all the cell types of the body. We wondered whether these factors might have functions beyond simply maintaining developmental potential. […]
- [The sleeping embryo: exploring dormancy and survival at single-cell resolution](https://bedzhovlab.com/embryonic-dormancy-and-integrin-yap-signalling-at-single-cell-resolution/): Embryonic development is usually a continuous process. After fertilisation, the embryo progresses through a series of developmental stages until it implants in the uterus and continues to grow. But in some mammals, embryos have evolved a remarkable ability to pause development and wait. This state is known as embryonic diapause. During diapause, the embryo remains alive but dramatically slows its development. When conditions become favourable again, it can resume development and continue towards implantation. We wanted to understand how an embryo enters this unusual state, how it survives while development is paused, and how it eventually wakes up again. Looking at […]
- [Flipping the cell axis inside out to build the foundations of the placenta](https://bedzhovlab.com/turning-cells-inside-out-to-build-the-placenta/): During early embryonic development, the cells that will eventually form the placenta undergo a remarkable transformation. A small population of cells at the embryonic pole of the blastocyst gives rise to the trophoblast stem-cell compartment, which subsequently expands and develops into the extra-embryonic tissues that support the growing embryo. But how does this relatively simple layer of cells reorganise itself into the complex architecture of the developing placenta? We wanted to understand how this transformation takes place during the transition from the blastocyst to the early post-implantation embryo. A surprising change in tissue architecture At the blastocyst stage, the polar trophectoderm […]
- [Cell fate is not set in stone](https://bedzhovlab.com/from-cellular-plasticity-to-embryonic-organisation/): Early embryonic development is often described as a process in which cells progressively make increasingly irreversible decisions about their identity. But in the very early embryo, cells are remarkably flexible. They can adapt to changes in their environment, compensate for differences in cell number or position, and still contribute to a properly organised embryo. We wanted to understand how long this developmental plasticity persists and whether it could be harnessed to generate new types of embryonic structures. When two cell fates can coexist During the first lineage segregation in the mouse embryo, cells separate into two extraembryonic lineages: the trophectoderm, which […]
- [The molecular switch that organises the embryo](https://bedzhovlab.com/the-molecular-switch-that-organises-the-embryo/): The early mouse embryo begins as a remarkably simple structure: a small group of pluripotent epiblast cells. Yet within a short period of time, these cells undergo a dramatic transformation. They change their developmental state, become polarised and reorganise into an epithelial tissue that will provide the foundation for building the body plan. We wanted to understand how these two processes—changes in cell identity and changes in tissue organisation—are coordinated. From a ball of cells to an organised tissue Before implantation, epiblast cells are relatively unorganised and lack the characteristic polarity of an epithelium. After implantation, this changes dramatically. The cells […]
- [A tumour suppressor coordinates cell shape and energy metabolism in pluripotent cells](https://bedzhovlab.com/how-pluripotent-cells-control-their-shape-and-energy-metabolism/): Pluripotency is usually thought of as a property of cell identity: pluripotent cells have the ability to give rise to many different cell types. But being pluripotent also means that a cell has to maintain a particular physical and metabolic state. We wanted to understand how the transcriptional network that maintains naïve pluripotency influences these less obvious properties of embryonic cells. Looking beyond cell identity Mouse embryonic stem cells can exist in different pluripotent states. In the naïve state, cells resemble the epiblast of the pre-implantation embryo. As they progress towards a more developmentally advanced state, their molecular identity, morphology and […]
- [What happens during the first contact between the embryo and the mother](https://bedzhovlab.com/what-happens-during-the-first-contact-between-the-embryo-and-the-mother/): Implantation is one of the most remarkable transitions in early pregnancy. The embryo has to attach to the uterus, invade the maternal tissue and establish connections with the mother’s blood supply. Yet many of the earliest events at this interface remain difficult to observe because the implanting embryo is buried deep within the uterine tissue. We wanted to find a way to see what happens when the embryo first encounters the maternal vasculature. Rebuilding the implantation environment To do this, we developed a 3D biomimetic culture system that recreates key physical and cellular features of the mouse implantation site. The system […]
- [How the embryo powers its growth: a samurai story](https://bedzhovlab.com/how-the-embryo-powers-its-growth/): Early embryonic development requires a remarkable change in cellular activity. Before implantation, the mouse embryo is relatively metabolically quiet. After implantation, this changes dramatically: the epiblast begins to proliferate rapidly, reorganises into an epithelial structure and undergoes the morphogenetic transformations that build the foundation of the future embryo. What controls this transition from a metabolically quiet state to one capable of supporting rapid growth and tissue organisation? In this study, we identified the transcription factor Ronin (also known as THAP11; Ronin (浪人, samurai without a master)) as an important regulator of this transition. We found that Ronin enables the embryonic lineage […]
- [The embryo builds a space — and the space builds the embryo](https://bedzhovlab.com/the-embryo-builds-a-space-and-the-space-builds-the-embryo/): How does a simple ball of cells transform into an organised embryo? Around the time of implantation, the mouse embryo undergoes one of the most dramatic transformations in early development. The blastocyst, which contains a hollow cavity surrounded by several cell populations, begins to reorganise into an elongated structure called the egg cylinder. At the centre of this structure, the epiblast — the pluripotent tissue that will give rise to the entire embryo — transforms from a simple ball of cells into a cup-shaped epithelium surrounding a new fluid-filled space: the proamniotic cavity. But where does this cavity come from? And […]
- [Diapause - development on hold, organisation in motion](https://bedzhovlab.com/diapause-development-on-fold-organisation-in-motion/): What happens when an embryo stops developing? At first, the answer might seem straightforward: development simply comes to a halt. But embryonic diapause — a natural state in which development is temporarily suspended — is much more interesting than that. During diapause, the mouse embryo remains alive for an extended period while delaying implantation and further development. The cells of the epiblast, which will eventually generate the entire body, remain pluripotent and preserve their developmental potential. But staying alive is not the same as doing nothing. In this study, we discovered that the dormant epiblast continues to actively reorganise itself and […]
- [How to genetically change the placenta without changing the embryo](https://bedzhovlab.com/how-to-genetically-change-the-placenta-without-changing-the-embryo/): The placenta is essential for embryonic development, yet studying how individual genes control its formation has been surprisingly difficult. The reason is simple: the placenta and the embryo come from different cell lineages, but most of the genetic tools we use in mice are designed to manipulate the embryo as a whole. We wanted to find a way around this problem. In this study, we developed a simple method that allows us to genetically modify the trophoblast lineage — the cells that will form the fetal part of the placenta — directly in the early mouse embryo. Our approach uses a […]

## Pages

- [Research focus](https://bedzhovlab.com/research/research-focus/): RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN A NUTSHELL RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Infertility affects around one in six people worldwide and remains a major global health challenge. Despite advances in assisted reproductive technologies, implantation failure is still a major barrier to successful pregnancy. Embryo implantation is the process of establishment of the first direct interactions between the embryo and the mother. Our research focuses on this critical period of mammalian development, through three interconnected research directions. 1– FROM A SINGLE CELL TO A FINAL SHAPE – Our first research direction investigates how a single cell develops into an organised embryo. We study the changes in cell […]
- [Collaborations & Funding](https://bedzhovlab.com/research/techniques/): COLLABORATIONSFUNDING OUR LAB IS PART OF Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1348 “Dynamic Cellular Interfaces – Formation and Function”CRC1348 website Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1748 “Reproduction MS”CRC1748 website DFG Priority Programme SPP 2493 “Heterotypic Cell-Cell Interactions in Epithelial Tissues (HetCCI)”SPP2493 website CiM-IMPRS Graduate ProgramCiM-IMPRS website OUR WORK IS SUPPORTED BY: PREVIOUS FUNDING
- [Images & Movies](https://bedzhovlab.com/research/art/): COVERSMICROSCOPYMOVIESOVERVIEW AND MORE COVERS MICROSCOPY IMAGES AND CANDIDATE COVERS MOVIES 3D biomimetic environment enabling embryo “implantation” in vitroMouse embryo and endothelial cells interactions in vitro, in a microfluidic chip (Govindasamy et al, Developmental Cell 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2021.10.014) In vitro model of the proamniotic cavity formation Serial block face scanning electron microscopy of mouse pluripotent cells grown in 3D culture conditions. The central lumen and the intermembranous spaces near the lumen are 3D rendered. Kim et al., Science Advances 2022 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe1640 OVERVIEW AND MORE “In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.”
- [Contact](https://bedzhovlab.com/contact/): BEDZHOV LAB – EMBRYONIC SELF-ORGANIZATION Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine Röntgenstraße 20 48149 Münster Germany GOOGLE MAPS X @emselorBlueskysocial @bedzhovlab.bsky.socialMPI-MB mpi-muenster.mpg.de/176301/bedzhov universe 137.035999177‘
- [Selected Work](https://bedzhovlab.com/research/discoveries/): MAIN DISCOVERIES
- [Publications & Patents](https://bedzhovlab.com/research/publications-patents/): PUBLICATIONSPATENTS PUBLICATIONS 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2015 2014 2013 2012 2010 2005 PATENTS per audacia ad astra
- [Home](https://bedzhovlab.com/): RESEARCH FOCUS Infertility affects around one in six people worldwide and remains a major global health challenge. Despite advances in assisted reproductive technologies, implantation failure is still a major barrier to successful pregnancy. Embryo implantation is the process of establishment of the first direct interactions between the embryo and the mother. Our research focuses on this critical period of mammalian development, through three interconnected research directions. First, we investigate how the early embryo emerges from a single cell and changes its shape and organisation during early development. We aim to understand how cells coordinate changes in their behaviour and physical environment […]
- [Research](https://bedzhovlab.com/research/): RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN A NUTSHELL RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Infertility affects around one in six people worldwide and remains a major global health challenge. Despite advances in assisted reproductive technologies, implantation failure is still a major barrier to successful pregnancy. Embryo implantation is the process of establishment of the first direct interactions between the embryo and the mother. Our research focuses on this critical period of mammalian development, through three interconnected research directions. 1– FROM A SINGLE CELL TO A FINAL SHAPE – Our first research direction investigates how a single cell develops into an organised embryo. We study the changes in cell […]
- [Team](https://bedzhovlab.com/team/): TEAMALUMNI LAB MEMBERS Prof Dr IVAN BEDZHOVgroup leader Ivan is from Bulgaria. He obtained a BSc in Molecular Biology and an MSc in Genetic and Cell Engineering from the University of Sofia. He completed his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and Epigenetics, followed by postdoctoral research at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge. In 2015, he was awarded a DFG Emmy Noether grant and established his laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine. In 2023, he received an ERC Consolidator grant to further support his group and research. In his free time, he enjoys spending time […]

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