Imaging the moment of choice

Professor Jonathan Chubb (primary)
MRC LMCB and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
University College London
Professor Karen Page (secondary)
Mathematics
University College London

Abstract

How do cells make decisions? Until recently, the dogma was that cell decision-making is instructive: a cell receives a signal and responds accordingly. Although simple, this idea ignores the complexity of the cell environment. A cell perceives many signals, all the time: how can it integrate all these to make an appropriate choice? To address this question, we will image cells during a differentiation decision, under conditions where we can also measure dynamics of multiple signals that influence choice. With simple mathematical models as a guide, we will use genome editing to define the molecular machinery that integrates competing signals.


References

Development. 2019 Apr 8;146(12): doi: 10.1242/dev.173740
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2017 Nov;6(6). doi: 10.1002/wdev.284
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Aug 14;115(33):8364-8369


BBSRC Area
Genes, development and STEM* approaches to biology
Area of Biology
DevelopmentMicrobiology
Techniques & Approaches
GeneticsMathematics / StatisticsMicroscopy / ElectrophysiologyMolecular BiologySimulation / Modelling