What regulates cell state transitions? Which processes and players are involved?

My work has focused on analysing how feedbacks between signalling molecules, gene regulatory networks and adhesion molecules stabilise transitions between cell states in early mouse development (Malaguti et al. 2019, Malaguti et al. 2013, Rao et al. 2020, Punovuori et al. 2019, Zhou et al. 2013). In Malaguti et al. 2019, I characterised a mechanism that confers robustness to early developmental events by rendering cells deaf to specific signalling cues during a narrow developmental time window. I am now interested in understanding whether a similar mechanism could be operating in other developmental contexts, and whether it may regulate the initiation and progression of malignancy.

It has long been known that the behaviour of one cell can affect that of its neighbours, but we have until recently lacked tools to interrogate this process at high spatial and temporal resolution. I have recently developed a modular synthetic system to monitor and manipulate cell-cell interactions in clonal mouse pluripotent stem cell lines (Malaguti et al. 2022). I plan to use this system to study how cell-cell communication can influence cell fate decisions in development and in disease.

2022: Tissue Repair MScR cohort (Interactive Lecture/Discussion Group)
2021: Biotechnology 3 (Tutor)
2020-2021: Developmental Biology 3 (Demonstrator, Marker)
2019-2020: Quantitative Skills for Biologists 1 (Tutor)
2019: Tissue Repair PhD/MSc cohort (Interactive Lecture/Discussion Group)
2014-2022: Supervision of PhD research students (Member/Convener of Thesis Committee)

Find out more about my work and that of my colleagues in Prof. Sally Lowell's Research Group:

https://www.ed.ac.uk/regenerative-medicine/research/sally-lowell