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Cell communication in cell fate decisions

Objective

I am interested in unravelling the mechanisms by which cellular communication dictates cell fate. For this I use a quantitative biology approach, using a combination of molecular biology, biophysics, and computational modelling of signal transduction networks. The results of the work can be applied in diagnostics and precision therapies.

Personal profile

Using a quantitative biology approach, I integrate the concepts of developmental biology with systems biology and biophysics to replace inherently limited trial-and-error approaches currently used. I have a strong background in the fields of developmental biology performed during my PhD in Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, biophysical techniques developed during my Post-doc at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany and my recent work co-developing a modeling tool ANIMO, and a computational model of the signal transduction network in chondrocytes, ECHO.

Projects

All cells in the body respond to external signals that are relayed over the plasma membrane through an intracellular network to the cell nucleus, where gene transcription is activated. Kinases, a class of enzymes that can phosphorylate and thereby regulate target proteins, play a pivotal role in this intracellular signaling network and are responsible for integration of all signals into a specific cellular response.