סמינר ביולוגיה חישובית/מתמטית

You are invited to a
Computational / Mathematical Biology Seminar
Thursday, April 29 at 12:00
Faculty Seminar Room 212, Building 212
Bar-Ilan University

Speaker: Dr. Iftach Nachman
Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University

Title: State switching dynamics in ensembles of cells: How do cells decide on their fate

Abstract:  How do living cells decide to switch their state based on their environment? Why do similar cells make different decisions? I will describe two projects dealing with this question in two systems: entry into meiosis in yeast cells, and reprogramming to pluripotency in mammalian cells. Using live-cell imaging, we follow the kinetics of state switching in those systems, describe the resulting state distributions, and use statistical methods to find internal and external parameters that affect the switching decisions in individual cells. If time permits, I will describe microfulidics-based approaches to apply signal pulses and gradients on the cell populations, in order to study their response kinetics.