Sophie Acton

Latest preprint now online! doi.org/10.64898/202... Veronika Lachina generates a vertex model to integrate active cellular forces and passive extracellular mechanics to produce rapid, cyclical tissue remodelling Collaboration with the brilliant @yanlanmao.bsky.social at @lmcb-ucl.bsky.social

Excited to share our collaboration with Professor David Atwell where we show the presence of nanovascular conduits formed by reticular fibroblasts in the brain. www.sciencealert.com/scientists-f... preprint here: rps.ucl.ac.uk/viewobject.h... @lmcb-ucl.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social

The deadline for applications is 12th October, time to get your application in if you've been thinking about your options for career development fellowships!

UCL’s Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) is seeking outstanding researchers interested in group leader fellowship sponsorship. Shape your research vision in a world-leading molecular and cell biology community. 📅 Deadline: 12 October Find out more: bit.ly/4xnY1Iu

What could a biophysicist and an immunologist talk about? ECM and tissue mechanics in lymph node remodelling! Don't miss out on this fun collaboration across two of my neighbours @yanlanmao.bsky.social and @actonlab.bsky.social led by PhD student @veronika-lachina.bsky.social

A pleasure to contribute to this brilliant work by Tim Halim's group @cruk-ci.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Proud to contribute to a seminal study in #ScienceMagazine revealing the importance of #ILC2-#Pi16+ #Fibroblast interactions in the pancreas. Forever grateful to @timotheus_halim & congrats to the co-authors! tinyurl.com/fmypdbme buechlerlab.com

Please share your opinions - students, postdocs, group leaders! we're collecting data on the funding and publishing landscape in the UK - following up on data from 3 years ago. Are things improving? or not? please follow the link below and share your thoughts docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Looking for a home for your immune cell biology paper? Our Academic Editor, Sophie Acton (@actonlab.bsky.social) handles articles on this topic so send your article our way. There are lots of reasons to choose JCS – find out more: journals.biologists.com/jcs/pages/re... #immunology #immunecells

Interested in joining a dynamic, interdisciplinary research department? A call is open for Group Leaders at the UCL Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology. Please submit your expression of interest by April 13, 2026. Further details here: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Tumor-draining Lymph nodes - Online event next week! follow the link to register On January 13 from 11:30 – 1:00 pm ET, @thelundlab.bsky.social , Dr. Ivan Maillard, @actonlab.bsky.social , & Dr. Burkhard Ludewig will discuss lymph node remodeling in cancer: events.cancer.gov/dcb/tdln #TLDNForums

Laurence Wilson and Martin Bees use high-speed 3D holographic imaging to capture the flagellar beat of single algal cells, revealing changes in the ‘handedness’ of the flagellar shapes at different points in their cycle. #JCSciliaSI journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Tongxiang Chen, Anthi Psoma, Geert van den Bogaart, Harry Warner @rug.nl @novo-nordisk.bsky.social & team discover that phosphorylation of VAMP3 couples IL-6 exocytosis to dendritic cell activation. Highlight: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... Article: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

📢 Short talk abstract/scholarship submission ends tomorrow! #KSStromal26 Don't miss out on the biggest #stromal #immunology conference happening in 2026. Register now: keysym.us/KSStromal26

We hiring! Please share this post with your talented ECRs We're looking for a postdoc interested in the formation and function of tertiary lymphoid structures - project funded by Wellcome Based at @lmcb-ucl.bsky.social at University College London Apply here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPD418/r...

Lovely trip to @institutcurie.bsky.social this week for student viva. Paris in the sunshine ☀️

We found that the FRC network in lymph nodes requires protrusions to follow ECM scaffolds and to link neighbouring fibroblasts. FRC use MARCKS to generate protrusions, and that PKN2 is the key kinase for these stroma Updated preprint below First round of revisions done doi.org/10.21203/rs....

Dr. Sophie Acton (@actonlab.bsky.social/UCL) is a Cancer Research UK Senior Fellow with an interest in lymphoid tissue biology. At #KSStromal26, she'll be sharing her insights on podoplanin - a molecule that controls DC motility within the lymph node. Register now! Link in bio.

Save the date! Keystone Stromal Immunology meeting, Feb 2-5, 2026 #KSStromal26 1. Scholarships/Short Talk Abstracts: October 7 2. Early Registration: December 3 (Save $200!) 3. Poster Abstracts: January 12, 2026 (11:59 MST) Please share! And reach out if you have any questions. Can't wait!

Pleased to update this - The paper is published in Cell Reports! A long road for this one, the paper grew exponentially and evolved over a couple of years. Thanks to @makris1.bsky.social for sticking with it to untangle all the new data! @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Our latest preprint! - led by @makris1.bsky.social we find that Podoplanin expression in lymphoid tissue fibroblasts regulated their inflammatory signalling and crosstalk with immune cell populations doi.org/10.1101/2022...

Our latest paper is finally out! We are showing the significance of the podoplanin/CLEC-2 signaling axis beyond controlling cellular mechanics and actomyosin contractility. #fibroblasts #podoplanin #stroma #inflammation @actonlab.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...

🔬 Calling all researchers! 📢 Submit your research or reviews on myeloid cells for a special collection curated by experts! Dive into the latest on their role in health & disease, and contribute to cutting-edge immunology. 🧬 👉 Learn more & submit: bit.ly/43OULe9

Learn more about UCL's Computational Cell Biophysics MRes by registering for one of our virtual open events on Wednesday 9 April: www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences...

Contribute to the latest research on neuroinflammation! 🧠🔬 We’re inviting submissions on microglia, CNS immunopathology, and novel immune interactions in the brain. Submit by June 2025! 📄 Learn more: bit.ly/3XAlsPV

🐟 Did you know the immune system might be linked to the lunar cycle? A new study on freshwater three-spined sticklebacks suggests a tiny endogenous tidal rhythm in immune gene expression! 🌊🔬 Read more in Discovery Immunology 👉 bit.ly/4hMtCMm #Immunology

In their Review, Julien Morival, Anna Hazelwood and Jan Lammerding @lammerdinglab.bsky.social discuss new insights and technological advances in understanding nuclear mechanotransduction. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Issue 4 is complete Explore our ToC: journals.biologists.com/jcs/issue/13... Our cover image shows the stacked membranous discs which form the outer segments of photoreceptor cells. See article from Mohona Gupta, Gregory Pazour and colleagues: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

NEW @preprintclub.bsky.social Journal Club of @biorxiv-immuno.bsky.social paper by @makris1.bsky.social @actonlab.bsky.social showing that loss of podoplanin in fibroblastic reticular cells results in decreased antibody levels and smaller germinal centres after immunization

And Erika McCartney from Toronto will present a preprint about the effect of Podoplanin expression on the phenotypes and immunoregulatory properties of fibroblasts in lymph nodes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

On #WorldCancerDay, we meet with @actonlab.bsky.social where Sophie Acton delves into the interactions between immune cells and support cells in lymph nodes and tumours. She discusses how fibroblasts influence immune responses and their potential in cancer therapy. www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences...

Also in Issue 2: - Research Highlights on axon guidance, muscle fibres & EGFR signalling - Meet our Associate Editors, Sophie Acton @actonlab.bsky.social, Pedro Carvalho, @guijacquemet.bsky.social, @ckirchhelle.bsky.social & Aryeh Warmflash - GAG lyases Review journals.biologists.com/jcs/issue/13...

JCS Editor-in-Chief @drmichaelway.bsky.social introduces our new Associate Editors. We are delighted to welcome Sophie Acton @actonlab.bsky.social, Pedro Carvalho, @guijacquemet.bsky.social, @ckirchhelle.bsky.social and Aryeh Warmflash to the JCS team. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Sophie @actonlab.bsky.social will handle manuscripts on immune cell biology, immunology, tumour microenvironment and lymphoid tissues. You can learn more about Sophie’s research in our Cell Scientist to Watch interview from 2020: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Happy to share that my PhD work got published in the special issue dedicated to the 100-year anniversary of the Spemann-Mangold Organiser: Tissue mechanics modulate morphogen signalling to induce the head organiser doi.org/10.1016/j.cd... With @mayorlab.bsky.social and Guillaume Charras 1/n

Super talk at #EMDS2024 by Anna Obenauf on myeloid cell hubs for T cell interactions in cancer 👏 And this is coming out in Nature 🧪 in just a few hours - congrats to Anais, Guillem, Anna & all authors 🥳🎉 @aelewaut.bsky.social @guillemxtivill.bsky.social @obenaufa.bsky.social @impvienna.bsky.social

Dear Immunology aficionados, you like to hear some exciting short lectures about the latest immunological discoveries from prominent scientists? Then join the virtual ImmuneAlliance Seminar series! Every 3rd Wed each month. For the link: dgfi.org/immune-allia.... #dgfi #ydgfi

UK Membrane Trafficking 2024 Who doesn’t like a deadline that gets brought forward? Please register by 3rd December - King’s need longer to make the sandwiches than I previously thought! estore.kcl.ac.uk/conferences-... Programme coming soon!

Our latest preprint! - led by @makris1.bsky.social we find that Podoplanin expression in lymphoid tissue fibroblasts regulated their inflammatory signalling and crosstalk with immune cell populations doi.org/10.1101/2022...

My turn to create a starter pack for scientists using live imaging in their research! Of course, I’ve likely missed many—please let me know who else I should include. Thanks! go.bsky.app/KYYr7xc #liveimaging #livevellimaging #microscopy

Pre-announcing the EMBO/EMBL symposium "Mechanobiology Across the Tree of Life", Heidelberg, 9-12 June 2026. It is still very very far away, but save the date 🗓️. With Alba Diz-Munoz, @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social , Kirsty Wan @micromotility.bsky.social, Enrique Rojas. www.embl.org/about/info/c...

We’ve renewed funding for our Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence for the next 5 years! With up to £4m support from our partner ScottishPower, researchers will continue to find new ways to beat #LungCancer 👇 @cruk-mi.bsky.social @thecrick.bsky.social news.cancerresearchuk.org/2024/11/20/4...

We took our *first* lab picture! You can get to know us on the now updated website. delaslab.com Bear with us while we get some cool science done 🧪🧫🔬👩‍💻. It's slow but it will happen 💪

We’ve jumped on board fully here on 🦋 A starter pack of those working on our favourite cell … the T cell 🥰🙈🥰 If you want an add let us know go.bsky.app/8B5P25c

Delighted to share our latest in @discovimmunol.bsky.social with @kathelse.bsky.social Holly Shiels, Iris Mair & Susanne Shultz. Climate change, pollution and changing land use impact immune function, driving chronic inflammatory disease and create exposure to infections (new & old). 🧪 #Immunosky