I’m Eleanor Lucy, an Applied Medical Sciences student at UCL with a growing focus on Developmental Biology – particularly the earliest days of the embryo and the cellular ‘decisions’ which lay the foundation for the development of every tissue and organ in the body.
My Academic Interests:
My work and reading are increasingly centring on Developmental Biology & Embryology, particularly:
- early lineage specification
- pluripotency and stem‑cell states
- stem‑cell–derived embryo models
- gastrulation and early patterning
- signalling pathways that guide embryonic structure
- embryonic-maternal connections and disease
- ethical communication around embryo research
I follow research in early human development from groups working on stem‑cell embryo models, gastrulation, and lineage specification, including work by Jenny Nichols, Magdalena Zernicka‑Goetz, and Kathy Niakan.
Current Focus:
I’m building this blog as a space to explore Developmental Biology concepts, summarise scientific papers, and communicate complex ideas clearly and accessibly.
I enjoy finding alternative ways to communicate complex ideas, such as diagrams, analogy-based explanations and infographics to make our earliest days more accessible for scientists and the public alike.
I also have experience in science communication through academic and magazine writing, making Biorender resources, educational content and tutoring A-Level Biology.
Future Goals:
I aim to pursue postgraduate study in MPhil in Biological Sciences (Developmental Biology), with a particular interest in the research environment at Cambridge, including PDN and the Gurdon Institute. Long‑term, I hope to contribute to research on early human development, embryo models, and the mechanisms that underpin healthy and disrupted embryogenesis.
Why I Write:
I believe Developmental Biology is one of the most beautiful and important areas of science — yet often misunderstood. Despite knowing so much about ourselves, our earliest, and most vulnerable origins from a zygote are still shrouded in mystery.
It is incredible to me that the earliest stages of our development are still known as the ‘black box’ due to the difficulties of understanding and studying these critical stages and my ambition is to work in this area to ‘peek inside’ this box and help to share its findings.
My interest in the subject began with a personal experience. I lost my twin sister before birth and over the years it stayed in my mind – what are these early developmental decisions which shape an embryo’s fate? As I began reading more deeply, the initial curiosity began to grow into a genuine scientific fascination with Embryology and Developmental Biology, and a deep desire to understand our earliest days.
