PLM 12 Speakers
*Click on individual speakers' names to access their group webpages
Bragg Lecture: Alexander van Oudenaarden (Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands)
Revealing novel cell types, cell-cell interactions, and cell lineages by single-cell sequencing Our lab is using a combination of experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches to quantitatively understand decision‐making in single cells with a focus on questions in developmental and stem cell biology. We are particularly interested in how cells use gene networks to make robust decisions even in the presence of significant fluctuations in gene expression. We use and develop a wide range of single-cell methods including single-cell sequencing and quantitative imaging tools. Alexander Aulehla (EMBL Heidelberg, Germany) Oscillatory signaling dynamics during mesoderm patterning We study the role of signaling dynamics in embryonic development and hence investigate the function of embryonic clocks, or oscillators. Ultradian oscillations (period ~2 hours) in Wnt, Fgf and Notch-signaling pathway activity have been identified during mesoderm segmentation in mouse embryos and are linked to the periodic formation of pre-vertebrae, or somites. To specifically address the role of signaling dynamics, we combine real-time imaging quantifications, functional perturbations and entrainment approaches, using both in vivo and ex-vivo models for mesoderm patterning. I will present our recent results on the role of Wnt/Notch oscillation phase-shift during mesoderm patterning. Patricia Bassereau (Institut Curie, France) Scissioning membranes with friction We are interested in how cells navigate in complex tissue environments. We focus on immune cells and ask how they search tissues and find their way to sites of infection or tissue damage. We approach this through live imaging of immune cells in zebrafish combined with quantitative, genetic and optogenetic approaches. Eric Dufresne (ETH Zürich, Switzerland) How do living organisms regulate material properties? Soft materials encompass the bulk of living tissues and are widely used as engineered materials, ranging from personal care products to electronic-paper displays. Soft materials are also great model systems for fundamental experiments in condensed matter physics, thanks to their accessible length and time scales. We aim to elucidate the physics and design principles that govern the structure and properties of soft and living materials. Typically, this involves studying the basic physics of polymers and colloids, as these simpler systems are ideal for their tractability and clear demonstration of essential phenomena. In addition, we collaborate with biologists to study the physiology of active and self-regulating living materials. A central questions is how living organisms control the structure and properties of soft materials over a hierarchy of length scales, from single molecules to tissues. Our lab is driven by experiments. Our core expertise lies in the development of new optical and mechanical approaches to investigate the structure and dynamics of materials on length scales from 100 nm to 1 mm and force scales from 10 fN to 10 mN. Suzanne Eaton (MPI CBG, Germany) Mechanical tension regulates endocytic turnover of E-Cadherin during pupal wing morphogenesis Tissue growth is coupled to patterning during development. This relationship has been obvious since 1924 when Hans Speman and Hilde Mangold generated a second body axis by transplanting the blastopore lip of one newt embryo to another. This piece of organizing tissue (which, as we now know, produces powerful signalling molecules called morphogens) instructs the surrounding tissue, not only to differentiate new head structures, but also to grow by precisely the correct amount to accommodate them. In the almost 100 years that have followed, we have identified and studied these morphogens and others like them. We have a working understanding of the cellular machinery that transduces their signals and how they spread through tissue. We have outlined the basic principles by which morphogen gradients control gene expression to produce spatial patterns of tissue differentiation. But the coupling of patterning to growth is still a mystery. Mathias Kolle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) Harnessing Nature’s Light Manipulation Strategies for Dynamic Optical Materials The research in the Laboratory for Biologically Inspired Photonic Engineering is focused on the fundamental and applied aspects of multifunctional, hierarchically- structured, bio-inspired, soft material systems with particular emphasis on stimuli-responsive and dynamically tunable optical performance. In this regard, we can benefit from highly sophisticated material solutions that have convergently evolved in various organisms. In particular, we explore design concepts found in biological photonic architectures, seek to understand the mechanisms underlying morphogenesis of biological optical materials, and aim to devise viable manufacturing strategies that can benefit from insight in biological formation processes and the use of established synthetic routines alike. We ultimately strive to realize new photonic materials with tailor-made optical properties. This includes research on stretchy, color-tunable, stimuli-responsive photonic fibers, reconfigurable emulsion-based micro-lens architectures, multifunctional fibers in energy applications, pixelated photonic surfaces, marine biological photonics, and the morphogenesis and engineering of biological photonic materials. Liedewij Laan (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands) Evolutionary self-organisation: lessons from the polarisation machinery in budding yeast I am interested in how the self-organisational (physical and chemical) properties of proteins affect the evolutionary dynamics of biochemical networks. The biochemical network we focus on is the polarisation machinery in budding yeast, which establishes a polarized protein pattern on the cell membrane and is essential for proliferation. We combine experimental evolution, quantitative cell biology and reaction-diffusion based modelling to understand how proteins that are essential for polarity establishment in one species can be absent in a closely related species or strain, while both species have the same functional requirement. So, how did these biochemical networks reorganize during evolution without significantly compromising fitness along the way? |
Pierre-François Lenne (IBDM, France)
Irreversibility of cell shape changes during morphogenesis I study behavior, but from the perspective of physics. Indeed, while the quantitive knowledge of the constituents of living systems is rapidly advancing, comparable understanding on the scale of entire organisms is remarkably lacking. But how do we build a physics on this complex and fully emergent scale? How do we identify the important degrees of freedom and the principles they obey? In our efforts we combine high-resolution video imaging with theoretical principles drawn from dynamical systems and statistical physics. We work especially with the nematode C. elegans (where we developed an “eigenworm” approach to posture) but also other animals including zebrafish and honeybees. While our expertise is rooted in theory, we collaborate closely with experimentalists, often to help design new, precision Jean-Léon Maître (Institut Curie, France) Mechanics of blastocyst morphogenesis We are interested in morphogenesis. For this, we use the early mammalian embryo which undergo slow and simple morphogenetic processes to form a structure called the blastocyst. We use biophysical methods, live imaging and genetics to probe, observe and perturb the morphogenesis of the blastocyst. Michel Milinkovitch (University of Geneva, Switzerland) A Living Cellular Automaton: when Charles Darwin meets John von Neumann and Alan Turing My multidisciplinary team of biologists, bioinformaticians, physicists, computer scientists and mathematicians investigates non-classical model species, mainly reptiles and ‘exotic’ mammals, that can inform us on yet unknown biological and physical processes generating this complex and diverse living world. Central to our reasoning is that a proper understanding of morphogenesis cannot be achieved without integrating the physical constrains acting on the developmental and Darwinian processes. More specifically, we investigate the interactions between physical (mechanics, reaction-diffusion) and biological (cell signalling, proliferation) mechanisms that generate and constrain the variety and complexity of skin appendages (scales, hairs, spines), skin colours (pigmentary and structural), and skin colour patterns in tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates). Our research requires integrating data and methods from comparative genomics, molecular developmental genetics, as well as physical experiments, mathematical modelling and numerical simulations. Conrad Mullineaux (Queen Mary University of London, UK) Vision in cyanobacteria I am interested in the cell biology of bacteria, especially the use of fluorescence microscopy and other techniques to probe the location, interactions and dynamics of proteins involved in complex cell processes. Specific current interests include directional light perception, signal transduction and motility in cyanobacteria, photosynthesis and electron transport, and the biogenesis, dynamics and maintenance of membranes in cyanobacteria and E. coli. David Rueda (Imperial College London, UK) Watching Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions from single Molecules to Single Cells Research in the Rueda lab involves the development of quantitative single-molecule approaches to investigate the mechanism of complex biochemical systems (incl. RNA, DNA and protein). Single molecule microscopy has opened up new avenues leading to important discoveries on how structural dynamics correlate to the function of nucleic acids and proteins. An attractive aspect of single-molecule microscopy is that it reveals the structural dynamics of individual molecules, otherwise hidden in ensemble-averaged experiments, thereby providing direct observation of key reaction intermediates (even low populated or short lived ones) and the characterization of reaction mechanisms. Andela Saric (University College London, UK) Functional and pathological protein assembly Andela uses theory and computer simulations to study biological assembly. She is interested in how proteins assemble “on-demand” into functional nanososcale structures, spontaneously, or when orchestrated by mechancal forces. She also works on understanding mechanisms of uncontrolled protein aggregation in the context of amyloidogenic diseases. Milka Sarris (University of Cambridge, UK) Leukocyte interpretation of chemical gradients in complex tissue environments We are interested in how cells navigate in complex tissue environments. We focus on immune cells and ask how they search tissues and find their way to sites of infection or tissue damage. We approach this through live imaging of immune cells in zebrafish combined with quantitative, genetic and optogenetic approaches. Greg Stephens (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands) Capturing the continuous complexity of natural behavior in the movement of C. elegans I study behavior, but from the perspective of physics. Indeed, while the quantitive knowledge of the constituents of living systems is rapidly advancing, comparable understanding on the scale of entire organisms is remarkably lacking. But how do we build a physics on this complex and fully emergent scale? How do we identify the important degrees of freedom and the principles they obey? In our efforts we combine high-resolution video imaging with theoretical principles drawn from dynamical systems and statistical physics. We work especially with the nematode C. elegans (where we developed an “eigenworm” approach to posture) but also other animals including zebrafish and honeybees. While our expertise is rooted in theory, we collaborate closely with experimentalists, often to help design new, precision experiments. |