Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge

Cambridge has been ranked joint third in the world by the @timeshighered.bsky.social World University Rankings 2025 🎉

#THEunirankings #CambridgeUniversity #UniversityOfCambridge #Cambridge #Universities #HigherEducation #ApplyingToCambridge

Sir John Gurdon, 1933-2025 | Wellcome A Nobel-winning scientist of great modesty and humour, John Gurdon died on 7 October. He made a discovery that opened up the field of cloning research, and created one of the best environments for res...

A Nobel-winning scientist of great modesty and humour, John Gurdon died on 7 Oct. Not only did he make a discovery that laid the foundations for stem cell research, he also created one of the best environments for research at the Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute wellcome.org/news/sir-joh...

He was a champion of developmental biology and a truly inspirational scientist. 🧪

Teal graphic with white Reproduction, Development and Lifelong Health logo (three people behind health cross). Headshots of Theme Leads Sumru Bayin, Alex Cagan, Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri, Mekayla Storer. Quote from Dr Sumru Bayin says: 'As Theme Leads, we look forward to enabling new connections that inspire transformative interdisciplinary research. Building on my experience with the Complex Tissue Regeneration Grand Challenge, I aim to uncover new synergies and unlock new opportunities across the School of Biological Sciences.'

Meet our Reproduction, Development and Lifelong Health Theme Leads. New Lead Sumru shares her hopes for the Theme. Learn more on our website: www.bio.cam.ac.uk

@gurdoninstitute.bsky.social @geneticscam.bsky.social @pdncambridge.bsky.social @scicambridge.bsky.social

John Gurdon's research inspired me in my own scientific pursuits as a stem cell biologist. Starting my lab at
@gurdoninstitute.bsky.social was therefore particularly exciting. Seeing him around daily only underscored his admirable dedication to science and research. RIP John.
tinyurl.com/nha6z25h

Saddened to learn of the death of John Gurdon today. He was the supreme scientist. And truly inspirational lecturer and speaker. The Gurdon Institute @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social has been a wonderful place to run a lab - and he will be truly missed.

www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/nobel-laurea...

Nobel Laureate Professor Sir John Gurdon dies aged 92 It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the Gurdon Institute.

So sad to hear the news - John truly was an inspiration to so many, and one of a kind.

www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...

It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social

Read our tribute to the visionary Nobel Laureate and watch an interview from 2012, just after he won: https://bit.ly/4mM8o3r

It is with profound sadness that I have learned of the passing of my beloved PhD supervisor, John Gurdon. We have lost a true giant, an incredible mentor, kind and generous, whose contributions to science will inspire generations. He changed my life, and the lives of so many others.

Black and white portrait of John Gurdon, 1971

John Gurdon, former Group Leader and Head of @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social has died.
Despite calling himself a "total non-intellectual” his work to reprogramme somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells transformed the field of developmental biology.
More: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/john-gurdon-...
#LMBNews

John Gurdon en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gu..., beacon of a generation that tackled head on the deepest question of biology: the development of an organism. The best tribute to him and his peers should be to remember and follow the path they forged for how to do Science in form and content.

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of our founder, colleague, mentor and friend, Professor Sir John Gurdon. His vision and dedication will continue to inspire generations of scientists.
🔗 www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/nobel-laurea...

Our 2025 GI retreat prize winners are:
🎉Social Engagement: Giada Vanacore and Shay Melamed
🙂 Research Culture: Theresa Gross-Thebing
🙌 Good Citizen: Sam Banjo
🔬Image Competition: @geraldinejowett.bsky.social
🌳Green: Tamara Romero
Thank you all for your great community spirit and positive vibes!

✨ Congratulations to our amazing Postdoc @geraldinejowett.bsky.social – winner of this year’s Image Competition! 🏆🧬
Want to know more about the research we do? 👀 Check it out over at @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social

Twelve members from the MRC Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Gurdon Institute standing in blue t-shirts with their race medals.

Members from the MRC Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacology and the Gurdon Institute took part in the Chariots of Fire event, a charity race that takes a scenic route through central Cambridge.

Read more about the event here: buff.ly/QgJr1DK

@phar.cam.ac.uk @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social

Thrilled to share that our Group Leader Prof. Azim Surani, together with Prof. Davor Solter, has been awarded the 2026 Paul Ehrlich & Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 🎉 for discovering genomic imprinting—a breakthrough that reshaped genetics and launched modern epigenetics.

The first patients were enrolled into a clinical trial of alpelisib in Dent disease 2 at Bambino Gesù Hospital, funded by Lowe Syndrome, Trust UK and Association USA, and Dent Disease Foundation. The drug was identified by the Gallop and Devuyst labs. Read more: www.bioc.cam.ac.uk/news/first-p...

We're loving hosting students for the @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social ASTP programme, along with @mrc-mbu.bsky.social . As ever, so impressed with the next generation of scientists!

We had a such a great week with this lovely group of students on @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social ASTP programme- they did some fantastic presentations on Friday! Well done to all of them 👋👋👋

Check out this list of posts on @prelights.bsky.social, discussing #preprints in #DevBio and #StemCell biology.

Featured #preLight is by Jethro Lundie-Brown @scicambridge.bsky.social on a preprint by @sumrubayin.bsky.social & co.

journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

🌟Congratulations to Azim Surani @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk for receiving the 2025 Kyoto Prize - Basic Sciences. Azim's research fundamentally advanced our understanding of developmental biology🔬🧬 www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/kyoto-prize-...
#KyotoPrize #AzimSurani #DevelopmentalBiology

🎉 Congratulations to the Rawlins Lab on receiving an ERC Advanced Grant for their LungDeCode project! 🫁🔬The project lays the foundation for future human lung regeneration.
#ERCGrant #GurdonInstitute #SBS_Cambridge

CRAMP1 drives linker histone expression to enable Polycomb repression In contrast to the well-understood role of core histones in DNA packaging, the function of the linker histone (H1) remains enigmatic. Challenging the …

🆕 New publication from the Tchasovnikarova Lab!
CRAMP1 drives linker histone expression to enable Polycomb repression 🧬
Read the full study in Molecular Cell:
🔗 sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#Epigenetics #Chromatin #GeneRegulation #Polycomb #GurdonInstitute #SBS_Cambridge

Carmina Santa-Cruz Mateos from PDN, University of Cambridge: "Condensing the Message: How Notch Signaling Forms Transcriptional Hubs to Control Gene Activation" Jimena Berni from Medical Research Building, University of Sussex – “Hox Activity Levels Govern the Evolution of Behaviors” Expect refreshments and pizza, this is a great chance to meet colleagues, exchange ideas, and build collaborations. Spread the word, everyone is welcome!

🗓️#CambridgeFlyClub 2nd meeting this year on July 16th (Weds) 4pm at @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social. Our speakers are Carmina Santa-Cruz Mateos from Sarah Bray's lab @pdncambridge.bsky.social and Jimena Berni from University of Sussex.
It's not the Dmel on our poster, guess what species is it?

Welcome 2025 Fellows and congratulations to all! Excited to see our @geraldinejowett.bsky.social in the list! @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social

Amazing to host Jen Sucre to give a talk @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social yesterday. Fun times and the most beautiful lung images. Plus a relaxing evening with the whole lab - thanks all! Warm June evening in Cambridge - Pimms was required!

A beautiful day to celebrate #CambridgePride with the Old Addenbrooke’s Neighbourhood @phar.cam.ac.uk @mrc-tu.bsky.social @cambiochem.bsky.social @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social 🏳️‍🌈

Frontiers | Lowe Syndrome and Me: a co-creation video series connecting patients, caregivers, and researchers Lowe syndrome (LS) is a rare genetic disorder leading to significant physical and cognitive impairments. Recognizing the need to bridge the gap between resea...

The Gurdon Institute Public Engagement team, Lowe Syndrome Association patient charity and Gallop laboratory have written an article about their co-production collaboration for the 2024 International Lowe Syndrome Symposium www.frontiersin.org/journals/cel...

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. If caught early, antibiotic treatment is usually effective but treatment delay can lead to long term debilitating symptoms. Prevention is better than cure, please read here!

Photo of seminar with headshot of Sumru Bayin and title of her talk

Today we welcomed Dr Sumru Bayin for our Group Leader Seminar! Dr Bayin is CSCI's Affiliate PI, and Group Leader at @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social. She was hosted by @bertiegottgens.bsky.social and presented on 'Age-dependent regenerative mechanisms in the brain.' Thanks to all who joined!