People

• Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology (2000), University of Grenoble (France)
• PhD in Life Sciences with Prof. W. Wahli (2005), University of Lausanne (Switzerland)
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Evo-Devo with Prof. D. Duboule (2005-2009), University of Geneva (Switzerland)
• Maître-Assistant in Evo-Devo with Prof. M.C. Milinkovitch (2010-2013), University of Geneva (Switzerland)

Complete researcher profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Simone obtained his Master’s degree in Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pisa (Italy). Before joining our lab as a PhD student he also worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Pisa (Italy), studying embryogenesis and neural crest dynamics in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Selected publications:

• Macrì S, Savriama Y, Khan I & Di-Poï N. Comparative analysis of squamate brains unveils multi-level variation in cerebellar architecture associated with locomotor specialization. Nature Communications 10(1): 5560 (2019). (Article)
• Eymann J, Salomies L, Macrì S & Di-Poï N. Variations in the proliferative activity of the peripheral retina correlate with postnatal ocular growth in squamate reptiles. Journal of Comparative Neurology 527(14): 2356-2370 (2019). (Article)
• Macrì S, Simula L, Pellarin I, Pegoraro S, Onorati M, Sgarra R, Manfioletti G & Vignali R. Hmga2 is required for neural crest specification in Xenopus laevis. Developmental Biology 411(1): 25-37 (2016). (Article)

Simone's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Julia received her Master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich (Germany), working on the expression of interferon-induced genes during preimplantation period in the bovine uterus. She developed a keen interest in the molecular mechanisms of development during her Master’s thesis and is currently doing her PhD on Evo-Devo.

Selected publications:

• Eymann J & Di-Poï N. Glia-mediated regenerative response following acute excitotoxic damage in the postnatal squamate retina. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 8: 406 (2020). (Article)
• Eymann J, Salomies L, Macrì S & Di-Poï N. Variations in the proliferative activity of the peripheral retina correlate with postnatal ocular growth in squamate reptiles. Journal of Comparative Neurology 527(14): 2356-2370 (2019). (Article)
• Salomies L, Eymann J, Khan I & Di-Poï N. The alternative regenerative strategy of bearded dragon unveils the key processes underlying vertebrate tooth renewal. eLife 8: e47702 (2019). (Article)

Julia's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Filipe obtained his Master's degree in Evolutionary Biology in the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Program in Evolutionary Biology (MEME) conferred by Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany) and Uppsala University (Sweden). He is currently finishing his PhD thesis on squamate skull Evo-Devo in our lab.

Selected publications:

• Da Silva FO, Fabre AC, Savriama Y, Ollonen J, Mahlow K, Herrel A, Müller J & Di-Poï N. The ecological origins of snakes as revealed by skull evolution. Nature Communications 9(1): 376 (2018). (Article)
• Ollonen J, Da Silva FO, Mahlow K & Di-Poï N Skull development, ossification pattern and adult shape in the emerging lizard model organism Pogona vitticeps: a comparative analysis with other squamates. Frontiers in Physiology 9: 278 (2018). (Article)

Filipe's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Fabien obtained a joint Master’s degree in Paleontology at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France) and Institute of Biotechnology (Finland), working on the evolution of tooth complexity in vertebrates using fossil and modern data. He is currently continuing this project as a PhD student.

Selected publications:

none

Fabien's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Lotta obtained her Master’s degree in Genetics in our lab at the University of Helsinki. She is now working on Craniofacial Developmental Genetics as a PhD student.

Selected publications:

• Salomies L, Eymann J, Khan I & Di-Poï N. The alternative regenerative strategy of bearded dragon unveils the key processes underlying vertebrate tooth renewal. eLife 8: e47702 (2019). (Article)
• Eymann J, Salomies L, Macrì S & Di-Poï N. Variations in the proliferative activity of the peripheral retina correlate with postnatal ocular growth in squamate reptiles. Journal of Comparative Neurology 527(14): 2356-2370 (2019). (Article)

Lotta's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Joni recently obtained his Master's degree in Physiology and Neuroscience in our lab at the University of Helsinki. He is currently continuing his project on Craniofacial Evo-Devo as a PhD student.

Selected publications:

• Khannoon ER, Ollonen J & Di-Poï N. Embryonic development of skull bones in the Sahara horned viper (Cerastes cerastes), with new insights into structures related to the basicranium and braincase roof. Journal of Anatomy (2020). (Article)
• Da Silva FO, Fabre AC, Savriama Y, Ollonen J, Mahlow K, Herrel A, Müller J & Di-Poï N. The ecological origins of snakes as revealed by skull evolution. Nature Communications 9(1): 376 (2018). (Article)
• Ollonen J, Da Silva FO, Mahlow K & Di-Poï N Skull development, ossification pattern and adult shape in the emerging lizard model organism Pogona vitticeps: a comparative analysis with other squamates. Frontiers in Physiology 9: 278 (2018). (Article)

Joni's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Daria obtained a Master’s degree in Evolutionary Biology at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia). Her Master’s thesis on morphofunctional specialization and evolution of body structures in amniotes was conducted at at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia) and Howard University (USA). She has been greatly interested on Evolutionary and Developmental Biology since her bachelor’s and is currently doing her PhD on Evo-Devo.

Selected publications:

• Diogo R, Razmadze D, Siomava N, Douglas N, Fuentes JSM & Duerinckx A. Musculoskeletal study of cebocephalic and cyclopic lamb heads illuminates links between normal and abnormal development, evolution and human pathologies. Scientific Reports 30(9): 991 (2019). (Article)
• Razmadze D, Panyutina AA & Zelenkov NV. Anatomy of the forelimb musculature and ligaments of Psittacus erithacus (Aves: Psittaciformes). Journal of Anatomy 233(4): 496-530 (2018). (Article)

Daria's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Cherie is an undergraduate student in Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Helsinki. She is currently doing her Master's thesis on Evo-Devo under the supervision of Simone Macrì.

Selected publications:

none

Cherie's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Ida is an undergraduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Helsinki. She is currently doing her Master's thesis on Evo-Devo under the supervision of Simone Macrì.

Se­lec­ted pub­lic­a­tions:

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Ann-Christine Aho, Maria Partanen and Madara Snepere are working as animal technicians in the Department of Biosciences at the University of Helsinki. They are involved in the management and care of vertebrate animal species in our lab.