Marta Shahbazi stood at the forefront of research into early human development.
Image credit:© MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Image by Michael Thornton
Marta Shahbazi, a stem cell biologist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), died on October 28, 2026, at the age of 41 in a train crash in Spain. She was traveling to accept an award at the 19th meeting of the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology, where she was being honored for her contributions to the study of human embryo development.
Shahbazi’s work focused on the earliest stages of mammalian embryo development to better understand how errors during this period can lead to failed pregnancies. To that end, she worked with stem cell–based embryo models as well as mouse and donated human embryos.
Culturing Human Embryos Beyond Implantation
Shahbazi completed her graduate studies at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre. In 2014, she began a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of developmental and stem cell biologist Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz at the University of Cambridge.
During her postdoctoral tenure, Shahbazi helped establish a method that allowed human embryos to grow in vitro beyond the implantation period. Using this approach, researchers were able to culture human embryos for up to 14 days post-fertilization, a significant advance over the then-conventional limit of seven days post-fertilization. International guidelines prohibit researchers from culturing human embryos beyond 14 days post-fertilization.
This opened new opportunities to study this stage of human embryonic development. In 2017, Shahbazi and Żernicka-Goetz used this model to study human embryo remodeling during implantation, offering insight into a fundamental process of human development.
Uncovering the Mechanics of Early Human Development
Shahbazi established her research group at the LMB in 2020. A few years ago, she and her team developed a three-dimensional culture using mouse embryonic cells that captured the key characteristics of gastrulation, the early developmental stage when pluripotent stem cells begin differentiating to establish distinct cell lineages. This provided an in vitro model to study this crucial developmental period at a molecular level.
“Marta was one of the brightest lights in my scientific family and an integral part of my lab for many years,” Żernicka-Goetz wrote in a social media post. “I loved Marta. She was extraordinarily warm, generous, honest, inspiring, a thoughtful friend who lived for science, and at the same time making the lives of those around her better,” she said.
“Marta was not just an exceptional scientist and a rising star in her field; she was a vibrant, deeply valued member of our institute’s family and part of the future of the LMB. Her passion for discovery was matched by her warmth, generosity, and dedication to supporting others,” said LMB Director Jan Löwe in a statement. “It is an unimaginable and deeply personal tragedy. We are devastated by her passing, and our hearts go out to her family, her children, and everyone who had the privilege of working alongside her at the LMB and elsewhere.”