Eirini Maniou obtained a BSc in Biology at the University of Patras, Greece, followed by an MSc in Developmental Biology at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. During her studies, she got fascinated by morphogenesis and moved on to pursue doctoral research at the University of Dundee. Her PhD thesis focused on collective migration of mesoderm progenitors during chick gastrulation. For her post-doctoral work, she joined Dr Gabriel Galea’s group at GOS Institute of Child Health, University College London, focusing on neural tube defects. Her research aims to elucidate the mechanisms underlying neural tube closure and understand why this fails leading to birth defects, such as anencephaly and spina bifida. Her project as an MSCA fellow is undertaken under the supervision of Prof Nicola Elvassore at the Department of Industrial Engineering. By 3D printing biocompatible sensors inside the neural tube of living chick embryos, she will identify the physical forces mediating closure and describe their intertissue coordination. The overall aim is to link molecular signals to tissue mechanics and understand how cells generate sufficient force to successfully complete morphogenesis.