Keynote - Bragg Lecturer: Nancy Kleckner Harvard University, USA
Physical biology of chromosomes We are interested in the dynamic behaviors of whole chromosomes, mitotic and meiotic and bacterial, and in potential commonalities. We rely heavily on 3D timelapse imaging and try to consider observed effects in a physical biology context. Main subjects of interest include: In meiosis: homologous chromosome pairing (including early behaviors that match predicted effects of densely packed semi-flexible rods) and one-dimensional spatial patterning of crossovers, where we propose that requisite communication occurs by redistribution of mechanical stress. In mitosis: indications of mechanical stress along organized chromosomes and relationships to meiotic chromosomes. In E.coli, the basis for sister segregation and a unifying model for how the bacterial cell cycle is controlled by direct mechanical linkage among involved components at the interface between the nucleoid and the inner cell periphery.
Sibling Inhibition in Bacterial Colony Expansion Our group uses experimental and theoretical tools from physics to advance our understanding of microorganisms, the most abundant and varied group of living organisms. We are particularly interested in their motility, their response to physico-chemical environmental stimuli, the connection between motility and metabolism and their behaviour as active-matter.
Heterogeneity in responses to ribosome-targeting antibiotics mediated by bacterial RNA repair The Weiße group develops mechanistic models of bacterial physiology and antimicrobial resistance, combining ODE and stochastic kinetic modelling with Bayesian machine learning and optimal experimental design. Its work spans coarse-grained models of bacterial growth physiology, single-cell dynamics and growth-division theory as a platform for integrating experimental data, and the molecular mechanisms of resistance, including the discovery that RNA repair drives heteroresistance through bistability. Across these strands, the group uses quantitative modelling to understand how bacteria respond to stress and how resistance emerges, aiming to inform better treatment strategies. Based jointly in Biological Sciences and Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, the group pairs close collaboration with experimentalists with computational and statistical modelling.
Jérémie Palacci Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Austria
Of Bacteria and Colloids Our research is focused on the non-equilibrium self-assembly of micron size “colloidal” building blocks, which consume energy. It is experiment and curiosity-driven and explores Soft Matter with an active twist. For example, how can one change the behavior of of system by powering its components or how can swimming bacteria become blacksmiths to steer and control the assembly of colloidal gels.
The orchestration of collective movement in biofilms We use quantitative tools to uncover how microorganisms exploit their environments and compete with one another. We study bacteria living in habitats critical to both human health and the planet, including the surface-attached biofilms that underlie many difficult-to-treat infections and the soil communities that drive global carbon cycles and shape agricultural productivity. Working at the intersection of biology and physics, we combine microfluidics, automated microscopy, massively parallel cell tracking, machine learning, molecular biology, evolutionary game theory, and mathematical modelling to tackle questions that no single discipline can answer alone. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we aim to uncover the principles that govern microbial life across scales, from single-cell decisions to community-level dynamics.
Mechanics of blastocyst morphogenesis We want to understand how the mammalian embryo shapes itself. For this, we study how the forces that deform the embryo are generated. Usual suspects are the cytoskeleton, adhesion molecules and intercellular fluid. We use microscopy to observe the deformations, biophysical tools to measure the forces, and genetics to perturb them.
Time-gated patterning in the Drosophila blastoderm establishes distinct expression boundaries downstream of moving stripes We are interested in how gene regulatory systems robustly pattern animal embryos. We are also interested in how these systems have been shaped by evolution and how they influence evolution in return. Our research combines advanced microscopy, genetic experiments, and computational modelling. Our workhorse species is the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We also have other insect species in the lab: various flies and the beetle Tribolium castaneum.
Signalling controls developmental tempo, but not progression, in the zebrafish Tbox gene regulatory network Our lab is interested in the diversity of biological form and seeks to understand how it is generated and evolves. We focus on the evolution and evolvability of segmented body plans, with particular emphasis on vertebral number, to uncover the developmental and evolutionary mechanisms that shape body plan diversity. Our research takes a highly interdisciplinary approach, combining state-of-the-art experimental embryology, advanced microscopy, and mathematical modelling. By studying carefully selected species that capture key phylogenetic relationships and morphological diversity, we investigate how developmental processes evolve and contribute to adaptation across vertebrates.
A bottom-up perspective of information propagation and computation in multicellular systems Living tissues continuously receive diverse form of information—including chemical signals, mechanical forces, physiological threats, and even time—to coordinate behaviors among millions of cells, from building complex structures during development to physiological adaptation throughout life. While the initial cues might only act on a small number of cells, how do multicellular systems spatially propagate and collectively compute information to generate behaviors that no single cell can achieve? Our laboratory combines synthetic engineering, quantitative measurements spanning molecules to tissues, and computational modeling to uncover the principles by which living tissues propagate and compute information, and use model-guided design to rationally program multicellular behaviors for engineering tissues and treating disease.
More is more: circumventing a rate-affinity tradeoff in glucose transport The Swain laboratory studies how cells make decisions, focusing on the response of budding yeasts to changing conditions. We have developed microfluidic technology to enable time-lapse microscopy of hundreds of single cells as they grow and divide in dynamic environments we control. We use machine learning, Bayesian inference, and mathematical modelling to analyse our results. Recent work includes investigating whether single cells can predict and determining if a pathogen's response to antifungal drugs is epigenetic.
About time: Memory and temporal dynamics in GRNs mediate global pattern scaling The Hadjivasiliou group uses tools from mathematics, physics and computer science to study developmental growth and patterning and its evolution. We develop theoretical models that challenge and push our understanding of patterning in dynamic environments and work in close collaboration with experimentalists.
Victor Sourjik Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, DE
How physics guides evolution: lessons from bacterial motility We are interested in a broad range of topics in quantitative microbiology, with the primary focus is on the quantitative analysis of molecular functions of microbial cellular networks and microbial behaviors. We use quantitative fluorescence microscopy and other techniques to investigate the ability of these networks to sense and integrate multiple environmental and internal stimuli, including those involved in host-microbe interactions (i), to function reliably in a noisy cellular environment (ii), and to adjust their function to changing environmental conditions through gene regulation and evolutionary adaptation (iii). We further aim to better understand the relationship between single-cell and collective behaviors within microbial communities, including cell differentiation, communication and community evolution. In most of our work, we combine experiments with theoretical analysis and computational modeling to elucidate principles common to different biological systems. Finally, we explore how cellular functions can be rationally redesigned for potential bioengineering applications.
Dynamic nucleus and cytoskeletal adaptations to tissue confinement in developmental cell migration Cells move through our bodies squeezing into tiny spaces. This stresses them, damaging their DNA or causing errors during cell division, which can promote cancer. However, it is difficult to visualise moving cells in mammalian tissues. In the lab, we use the transparent embryo of the Zebrafish to ask what happens when cells experience physical stress. In particular, we study a population of highly migratory embryonic cells called neural crest cells, which move through narrow spaces in fish embryos during their physiological migration. Using Zebrafish neural crest cells as a model, we are asking whether cells divide asymmetrically in vivo because of compression; whether compressive stresses cause chromosomal damage; and whether this enables tumour initiation.
