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đ 𧳠Secondments𧳠đ
A key highlight of the ZooCELL journey is the opportunity for our doctoral candidates (DCs) to take part in secondments across the network. During these periods, they temporarily relocate to partner institutions, where they gain hands-on training, learn new...
Training at the roots of evo-devo: 1st ZooCELL graduate school report
Jena has long been a place where science, curiosity, and creativity meet. At the venerable Friedrich-Schiller-UniversitÀt Jena (FSU Jena), the institution where the 19th century biologist Ernst Haeckel studied and later taught, twelve enthusiastic graduate students gathered from 15th to 17th September 2025 for the first ZooCELL Graduate School.
Practical course on Animal Diversity and EM sample preparation
By Asli Kilic, Doctoral candidate, Arendt lab-EMBL. The very first ZooCELL practical course took place at the Centre of Organismal Studies (COS) in Heidelberg, Germany, from February 3rd to 14th, 2025. This hands-on course on "Animal Diversity and EM Sample...
ZooCELL Project Launches with Vibrant Kickoff Meeting
The inaugural ZooCELL kick-off meeting convened in the scenic setting of Ischia, Italy, from April 12th to 14th, 2024. This in-person gathering brought together ZooCELL's Principal Investigators for a series of engaging sessions and discussions. The meeting started...
DC12: âEvolution of sensory systems for polychaete larval behaviour and developmentâ
Host and PhD Awarding institution: University of Exeter (UNIEXE) Primary Supervisor: Dr. Elizabeth Williams Project duration: 36 months. Project description: This project will compare the head sensory systems (antennae, cirri, nuchal organ) of closely related nereid...
DC 11: âHomology of diverse lophotrochozoan larval types and the characterisation of apical organsâ
Host and PhD Awarding institution: University College London (UCL), UK Primary Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Max Telford Project duration: 36 months. Project description: Many marine animal species have indirect development via a larval stage - this is particularly true of...
DC10: âFrom transcriptome to morphome: development of a correlative toolbox to perform vEM on targeted cell typesâ
Host: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), DE. PhD Awarding institution: Heidelberg University (UHEI), DE. Primary Supervisor: Dr.Yannick Schwab. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: The morphome quantitatively describes morphological diversity...
DC9: âOrientation in lophophoratesâ
Host institution: Museum fĂŒr Naturkunde Berlin (MFN), DE PhD Awarding institution: Humboldt-University Berlin (HUBER), DE Primary Supervisor:  Prof. Dr. Carsten Lueter Project duration: 36 months Project description: The candidate will conduct an in-depth study of...
DC8: âComparative structure and evolution of the ecdysozoan headâ
Host institution and PhD Awarding institution: Uppsala University (UU), SE Primary Supervisor:  Dr. Graham Budd Co- Supervisor: Dr. Ralf Janssen Project duration: 36 months Project description: The priapulid worms are a particularly interesting group as they are...
DC7: âApplication of a high-throughput array tomography vEM pipeline to study the diversity of marine larvae and sensory cell typesâ
Host institution and PhD Awarding institution: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) - Heidelberg University, DE. Primary Supervisor: Â Prof. Dr. Gaspar Jekely. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: The project will offer in-depth training in the volume...
DC6: âIdentification of conserved cellular functional modules in sensory neuron evolutionâ
Host: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), DE PhD Awarding institution: Heidelberg University (UHEI), DE. Primary Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Detlev Arendt Project duration: 36 months Project description: Our aim to elucidate the evolution of the bilaterian brain...
DC5: “Mapping cell type diversity in the arthropod leg”
Host institution: Institut de GĂ©nomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL)- CNRS, FR. PhD Awarding institution: Ăcole Normale SupĂ©rieure de Lyon (ENSL), FR. Supervisors:  Dr. Michalis Averof and Dr. Mathilde Paris. Project duration: 36 months. Project description:...
DC4: “Neurosensory cell types in the hydrozoan planula larvae: seeking the transcriptional basis of morphological diversity”
Host institution: Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), FR PhD Awarding institution: Sorbonne University (SU), FR Primary Supervisor:  Dr. Evelyn Houliston. Co- Supervisor: Dr. Richard Copley. Project duration: 36 months. Project Description: Sensory cells...
DC3: âThe origin and evolution of gravitational sense organs in acoelomorphs and beyondâ
Host and PhD Awarding institution: Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSUJENA), DE. Primary Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hejnol. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: The research group, headed by Andreas Hejnol, studies the evolution of animal organ...
DC2: âThe sea urchin larval anterior nervous system: sensing light and food availability to modulate growth and swimming behaviourâ
Host institution: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), IT. PhD Awarding institution: Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSUJENA), DE. Primary Supervisor:  Dr. Maria I. Arnone. Co- Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hejnol. Project duration: 36 months. Project...