Team

Kongju has a longstanding interest in uncovering the principles that govern animal development.He is currently a joint postdoc in the Pourquie lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Gussoni lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. In the Pourquie lab, he studies HOX gene function using stem cells based 2D and 3D models, while in the Gussoni lab, he focuses on skeletal muscle and related diseases.

I’m interested in a simple question with big implications: how do embryos reliably build complex shapes? I tackle this using two model systems—(1) the segmentation clock, a network of coupled biological oscillators, and (2) cilia-driven fluid flows that establish left–right patterning. By combining live imaging of mouse embryos with quantitative image analysis and mathematical modeling (dynamical systems and computational fluid dynamics), I aim to uncover the design principles that make pattern formation and morphogenesis robust.

I am interested in how cells interact among each other to self-organize into complex and functional structures. As an undergraduate, I studied how the plant root apical meristem communicates with other plant tissues about nutrient availability, integrating this information to regulate root growth. During my PhD, I investigated how cells of the floral meristem transport auxin to create precisely positioned signaling maxima that guide floral organ initiation. Currently, as a postdoc, I am exploring how HOX genes mediate the recognition between spinal motoneurons and their muscle targets to form correct neuromuscular circuits, using in vitro human stem cell models. In my spare time, I enjoy playing ultimate frisbee and dragon boat racing. 

I am interested in understanding how and where different organs cell types emerge during vertebrate embryogenesis. My previous research primarily focused on the limb and axial musculature patterning, mainly using the chick embryo as a model system. In the Pourquié lab, I am investigating the embryonic origin of other trunk cell types, such as the meninges and the dermis, by combining chick embryo experiments with single-cell barcoding approaches in mice. In the end, I aim to leverage these fundamental knowledges to recapitulate their formation using human iPSCs, with the ultimate goal of developing in vitro models of human diseases such as meningitis.

I am a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where I study the temporal dynamics of vertebrate development. My research combines advanced quantitative imaging, optogenetics, and dynamical systems modeling to uncover how transcriptional networks and biological rhythms control developmental tempo across species. Previously, I earned my Ph.D. in Physics at UC Berkeley, where I studied spatial patterning in fruit fly embryos.

My research asks how mechanics and signaling combine to pattern the embryo. Focusing on somitogenesis, I combine in vitro experiments, quantitative analysis with physical modeling to understand how tissue mechanics, cell motility, and signaling crosstalk control segmentation clock synchrony and somite formation. Previously, I did my PhD at MIT MechE, where I gained expertise in biophysics, solid mechanics, and active matter. I enjoy hiking and photography in my spare time.

Amine Bouchekioua is an MD-PhD student at the University of Lille, a visiting graduate researcher at Harvard Medical School, and a predoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His research focuses on cell therapy, developmental biology, and regenerative therapy. By generating human iPSC-derived brown adipose organoids and muscle stem cells, he develops innovative models of metabolic disorders and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with the aim of advancing new strategies for regenerative medicine and future cell-based therapies.

Matthew is a PhD candidate in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program and a member of the Therapeutics Graduate Program at Harvard Medical School. In the lab, he uses stem cells to disentangle the regulatory network that governs human somitogenesis. Outside of the lab, he enjoys movies, soccer, and trying new restaurants around Boston.

Alejandra is a PhD candidate in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) program in the lab of Olivier Pourquié. She received her undergraduate degree in Human Biology from Pompeu Fabra University and later her master’s degree in Multidisciplinary Research at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. With a background in muscle biology, her thesis research focuses on the usage of pluripotent stem cells as a tool to understand human muscle development.

Svetlana graduated from Kazan University in Russia with the B.S. degree, majoring in Animal Physiology. She received her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the Russian Academy of Science in 1981 and worked as a Research Scientist at the Sechenov Institute in St. Petersburg. She worked for many years in the laboratory of David Clapham at Boston Children’s Hospital, and in 2017 she joined the laboratory of Dr. Olivier Pourquie at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she is helping with running the day-to-day lab operations .