The Mathematical Analysis of Cell Fate Decision
We are applying mathematical models to understand how cells make decisions. Ultimately we want to control these decisions for biotechnological and therapeutic purposes.
We are particularly interested in:
how stem cells give rise to differentiated cells and how tissues are formed and maintained
what drives bacterial lifestyle and behaviour
how does the immune system identify and attack threats to the body, e.g. infections, wounds, and cancer
Being cognisant of the different facets of cell-fate decision making processes spanning the whole tree of life is crucial to develop the theory of cellular computation and computational cell biology.
Representative Publications
An Information-Theoretic Framework for Deciphering Pleiotropic and Noisy Biochemical Signaling →
Jetka, T., Nienałtowski, K., Filippi, S., Stumpf, M.P.H., & Komorowski, M. (2018). Nature Communications, 9(1), 4591.Single Cell Phenotyping Reveals Heterogeneity Among Hematopoietic Stem Cells Following Infection →
Maclean, A.L., Smith, M.A., Liepe, J., Sim, A., Khorshed, R., Rashidi, N.M., et al. (2017). Stem Cells (Dayton, Ohio), 132, 631.Systems Analysis of the Dynamic Inflammatory Response to Tissue Damage Reveals Spatiotemporal Properties of the Wound Attractant Gradient →
Weavers, H., Liepe, J., Sim, A., Wood, W., Martin, P., & Stumpf, M.P.H. (2016). Current Biology: CB, 26(15), 1975–1989.Robustness of MEK-ERK Dynamics and Origins of Cell-to-Cell Variability in MAPK Signaling → T., Kunida, K., McMahon, S.S., et al. (2016). Cell Reports, 15(11), 2524–2535.