About

Stefano Di Talia is a Professor of Cell Biology and also holds a position in Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. He is an affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center and is involved in the Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, as well as the Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program and the University Program in Genetics and Genomics. His research focuses on cell biology, developmental biology, and regenerative processes, contributing to the understanding of cellular mechanisms and their implications in health and disease.

Research topics

• Biology
• Computer Science
• Genetics
• Anatomy
• Cell biology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Mechanical engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Cognitive science
• Algorithm
• Neuroscience
• Geometry
• Mathematics
• Biological system
• Computer vision
• Engineering
• Materials science

Selected publications

• Robust cytoplasmic partitioning by solving a cytoskeletal instability

  Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin) · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Early development across vertebrates and insects critically relies on robustly reorganizing the cytoplasm of fertilized eggs into individualized cells1,2. This intricate process is orchestrated by large microtubule structures that traverse the embryo, partitioning the cytoplasm into physically distinct and stable compartments3,4. Here, despite the robustness of embryonic development, we uncover an intrinsic instability in cytoplasmic partitioning driven by the microtubule cytoskeleton. By combining experiments in cytoplasmic extract and in vivo, we reveal that embryos circumvent this instability through two distinct mechanisms: either by matching the cell-cycle duration to the time needed for the instability to unfold or by limiting microtubule nucleation. These regulatory mechanisms give rise to two possible strategies to fill the cytoplasm, which we experimentally demonstrate in zebrafish and Drosophila embryos, respectively. In zebrafish embryos, unstable microtubule waves fill the geometry of the entire embryo from the first division. Conversely, in Drosophila embryos, stable microtubule asters resulting from reduced microtubule nucleation gradually fill the cytoplasm throughout multiple divisions. Our results indicate that the temporal control of microtubule dynamics could have driven the evolutionary emergence of species-specific mechanisms for effective cytoplasmic organization. Furthermore, our study unveils a fundamental synergy between physical instabilities and biological clocks, uncovering universal strategies for rapid, robust and efficient spatial ordering in biological systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Author Correction: Robust cytoplasmic partitioning by solving a cytoskeletal instability

  Nature · 2026-04-22

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Robust cytoplasmic partitioning by solving a cytoskeletal instability

  Nature · 2026-01-28 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Early development across vertebrates and insects critically relies on robustly reorganizing the cytoplasm of fertilized eggs into individualized cells 1,2 . This intricate process is orchestrated by large microtubule structures that traverse the embryo, partitioning the cytoplasm into physically distinct and stable compartments 3,4 . Here, despite the robustness of embryonic development, we uncover an intrinsic instability in cytoplasmic partitioning driven by the microtubule cytoskeleton. By combining experiments in cytoplasmic extract and in vivo, we reveal that embryos circumvent this instability through two distinct mechanisms: either by matching the cell-cycle duration to the time needed for the instability to unfold or by limiting microtubule nucleation. These regulatory mechanisms give rise to two possible strategies to fill the cytoplasm, which we experimentally demonstrate in zebrafish and Drosophila embryos, respectively. In zebrafish embryos, unstable microtubule waves fill the geometry of the entire embryo from the first division. Conversely, in Drosophila embryos, stable microtubule asters resulting from reduced microtubule nucleation gradually fill the cytoplasm throughout multiple divisions. Our results indicate that the temporal control of microtubule dynamics could have driven the evolutionary emergence of species-specific mechanisms for effective cytoplasmic organization. Furthermore, our study unveils a fundamental synergy between physical instabilities and biological clocks, uncovering universal strategies for rapid, robust and efficient spatial ordering in biological systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Phased ERK responsiveness and developmental robustness regulate teleost skin morphogenesis

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-03-05 · 5 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Elongation of the vertebrate embryonic axis necessitates rapid expansion of the epidermis to accommodate the growth of underlying tissues. Here, we generated a toolkit to visualize and quantify signaling in entire cell populations of the periderm, the outermost layer of the epidermis, in live developing zebrafish. We find that oriented cell divisions facilitate growth of the early periderm during axial elongation rather than cell addition from the basal layer. Activity levels of Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), a downstream effector of the MAPK pathway, gauged by a live biosensor, predict cell cycle entry, and optogenetic ERK activation regulates cell cycling dynamics. As development proceeds, rates of peridermal cell proliferation decrease, and ERK activity becomes more pulsatile and functionally transitions to promote hypertrophic cell growth. Targeted genetic blockade of cell division generates animals with oversized periderm cells, yet, unexpectedly, development to adulthood is not impaired. Our findings reveal stage-dependent differential responsiveness to ERK signaling and marked developmental robustness in growing teleost skin.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Topological interactions drive the first fate decision in the Drosophila embryo

  Nature Physics · 2025-02-25 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tissue-wide, synchronous Erk oscillations time the segmentation of the zebrafish notochord

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-09-02 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The generation of a periodic body plan is a fundamental property of vertebrates. While biological oscillators provide a mechanism for timing the formation of repeated structures, few examples of signaling oscillators have been identified in development. Here, we show that the addition of repeating mineralizing segments in the zebrafish notochord is timed by tissue-wide, synchronous oscillations of Erk activity. The oscillations are mediated by delayed negative feedback from spry and dusp and expression of the Egf ligand. The uniform increase in egf expression controls the emergence of the oscillations, revealing the mechanism controlling the onset of notochord segmentation. Together, our work reveals an instance of synchronous clocks timing a patterning process and controlling the development of the vertebral column from the notochord.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Vascular scaling: A careful balancing act between proliferation and extrusion

  Cell Systems · 2025-07-01

  letterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Decaying and expanding Erk gradients process memory of skeletal size during zebrafish fin regeneration

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-01-23 · 8 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Regeneration of an amputated salamander limb or fish fin restores pre-injury size and structure, illustrating the phenomenon of positional memory. Although appreciated for centuries, the identity of position-dependent cues and how they control tissue growth are not resolved. Here, we quantify Erk signaling events in whole populations of osteoblasts during zebrafish fin regeneration. We find that osteoblast Erk activity is dependent on Fgf receptor signaling and organized into millimeter-long gradients that extend from the distal tip to the amputation site. Erk activity scales with the amount of tissue amputated, predicts the likelihood of osteoblast cycling, and predicts the size of regenerated skeletal structures. Mathematical modeling suggests gradients are established by the transient deposition of long-lived ligands that are transported by tissue growth. This concept is supported by the observed scaling of expression of the essential epidermal ligand fgf20a with extents of amputation. Our work provides evidence that localized, scaled expression of pro-regenerative ligands instructs long-range signaling and cycling to control skeletal size in regenerating appendages.

  PublisherDOI

• Signal control during tissue regeneration in adult animals

  Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology · 2025-11-11 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In toto live imaging of Erk signaling dynamics in developing zebrafish hepatocytes

  Developmental Biology · 2025-04-12

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Mechanisms and developmental functions of cytoplasmic flows in early embryogenesis

  NIH · $1.1M · 2021–2025

• LIVE IMAGING OF BONE REGENERATION IN ZEBRAFISH

  NIH · $3.5M · 2020–2030

• NIH Grant K99HD074670

  NIH · $97k · 2014

• Time-keeping Mechanisms in Drosophila Embryonic Development

  NIH · $705k · 2014–2017

• Time-keeping mechanisms of embryonic cell cycles

  NIH · $2.0M · 2017–2024

Frequent coauthors

• Kenneth D. Poss

  Duke Medical Center

  65 shared

• Massimo Vergassola

  Sorbonne Université

  40 shared

• Alessandro De Simone

  University of Geneva

  30 shared

• Eric Wieschaus

  Princeton University

  28 shared

• Alberto Puliafito

  University of Turin

  28 shared

• Victoria E. Deneke

  Research Institute of Molecular Pathology

  26 shared

• Ben D. Cox

  23 shared

• Yitong Xu

  Peking University

  23 shared

Education

• PhD

  The Rockefeller University

  2008