IPLS Invited Speaker - Professor Michael Elowitz (California Institute of Technology)

Title:  Cell signalling and regulation at the single cell level

Abstract: Cells use circuits of interacting genes and proteins to control their behaviors, but the design principles that govern genetic circuit architecture usually remain mysterious. My lab seeks to identify and understand such design principles. To do so, we combine three synergistic approaches: First, we apply time-lapse movies and quantitative image analysis to follow the dynamics of genetic circuits in individual cells. Second, we develop synthetic biology approaches in which we design and construct new genetic circuits (or re-wire natural ones) to implement specific functions in cells. Finally, we use mathematical models to explore the dynamics of actual and potential genetic circuit architectures. We work in bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells, model systems that enable precise genetic manipulation and measurement of the dynamics of cellular gene circuits. In this talk, I will discuss recent work in mammalian cells in which dynamic, single cell analysis provides insight into design principles of the Notch signaling pathway and other systems.

Elowitz Lab