How do transcription factors control cell fate transitions? The aim of this project is to determine how transcription factors control cellular identity, which is relevant to many biological processes including embryogenesis, cellular reprogramming and differentiation. Innovative genomic tools will be combined with various in vitro cellular conversion systems to generate fundamental mechanistic insight into how transcription factors mediate these identity changes. The knowledge gained from this w ....How do transcription factors control cell fate transitions? The aim of this project is to determine how transcription factors control cellular identity, which is relevant to many biological processes including embryogenesis, cellular reprogramming and differentiation. Innovative genomic tools will be combined with various in vitro cellular conversion systems to generate fundamental mechanistic insight into how transcription factors mediate these identity changes. The knowledge gained from this work will allow us to answer standing fundamental questions in regards to cell fate control and the biochemistry of transcription factors, which in turn will aid in the development of novel gene regulation technologies applicable to a myriad of fields and industries.Read moreRead less
Unveiling the epigenome dynamics through the pluripotency continuum. This project aims to utilise stem cells and genomics based technologies, in combination with new computational algorithms to dissect the fundamental molecular events that drive the first steps during development. The project is expected to unveil the basic mechanisms underpinning how genes driving the developmental master plan are controlled in cells that have the capacity to give rise to the whole organism and placenta. The kn ....Unveiling the epigenome dynamics through the pluripotency continuum. This project aims to utilise stem cells and genomics based technologies, in combination with new computational algorithms to dissect the fundamental molecular events that drive the first steps during development. The project is expected to unveil the basic mechanisms underpinning how genes driving the developmental master plan are controlled in cells that have the capacity to give rise to the whole organism and placenta. The knowledge gained from this work will inform and guide future novel approaches, such as in assisted reproductive technologies or regenerative medicine.Read moreRead less
Imaging mammalian organogenesis with adaptive optics. Optical and computational barriers to analysing cell movement have limited our understanding of mammalian organogenesis. We have built a super-resolution spinning disk confocal microscope with adaptive optics and developed machine learning-based image processing and cell segmentation workflows to overcome these long-standing barriers. We propose to combine these cutting-edge live imaging and analysis approaches to characterise the role of cel ....Imaging mammalian organogenesis with adaptive optics. Optical and computational barriers to analysing cell movement have limited our understanding of mammalian organogenesis. We have built a super-resolution spinning disk confocal microscope with adaptive optics and developed machine learning-based image processing and cell segmentation workflows to overcome these long-standing barriers. We propose to combine these cutting-edge live imaging and analysis approaches to characterise the role of cell movement in mammalian organ formation and develop advanced cell segmentation and tracking methods for use in the scientific community. We anticipate this project will generate fundamental insights into how cells interact to build complex organs.Read moreRead less
Molecular definition of cellular states in the vascular endothelium. The endothelium is the main cell type forming blood vessels and spans across multiple cell states from stem/progenitor to a variety of terminally differentiated cells. How each of these cell states are defined at the molecular level is not known preventing the optimal formation and integration of blood vessels in bioengineered tissues. Using innovative single cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility studies combined wit ....Molecular definition of cellular states in the vascular endothelium. The endothelium is the main cell type forming blood vessels and spans across multiple cell states from stem/progenitor to a variety of terminally differentiated cells. How each of these cell states are defined at the molecular level is not known preventing the optimal formation and integration of blood vessels in bioengineered tissues. Using innovative single cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility studies combined with innovative analysis, we propose to define and validate each cell state at the molecular level.
This new knowledge would greatly enhance our ability to control the transition between cell states leading to a more widespread use of endothelial cells in bioengineering of tissues globally for many applications.
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