Project description
Decoding how cells navigate noise to decide their fate
How do embryos develop into organised structures when individual cells are inherently ‘noisy’ and unpredictable? The ERC-funded InfoFate project aims to answer this question by studying how these cells collectively process information to create reliable spatial patterns. It will use information theory and computer modeling to track how cells weigh different inputs such as chemical signals from their neighbours or the physical forces from surrounding tissue. By testing these interactions in lab-grown organoids, the researchers can pinpoint the rules that allow a noisy system to produce a perfectly patterned tissue. This research moves beyond simple observation to quantify the actual decision-making process that drives life’s earliest stages.
Objective
Embryonic development relies on the ability of multi-cellular systems to collectively coordinate the establishment of precise spatial patterns of cell fates. An inevitable obstacle to such coordination is intrinsic noise at the single-cell level, which constrains the amount of information accessible to cells for fate decisions. While such information was often considered to be encoded in overall concentrations of extracellular signals, it is becoming increasingly clear that cells use a much broader set of inputs to make decisions. In this project, we will develop a new data-driven theoretical framework of developmental patterning to quantify, characterize and predict how cells generate and process four types of information: dynamical signals, neighborhood interactions, tissue heterogeneity, and mechanical information. We will establish a novel theoretical methodology by uniting computational tissue models that account for single-cell noise with information theory to bridge the scales and relate mechano-chemical inputs to cell fate decisions. We will develop this approach in direct connection with spatio-temporal imaging experiments in two model systems. First, we will determine how regulatory interactions in 2D human gastruloids generate information encoded in complex signaling dynamics, and how single cells can use this information to decide their fate. Second, we will reveal how signaling and mechanics interplay to establish mechano-chemical information in intestinal organoids, driving simultaneous fate patterning and tissue morphogenesis. This project will uncover how cell-cell interactions establish self-organized spatial patterns that relay information accessible to single cells to reliably instruct cell fate decisions, and give insight into the fundamental constraints under which developmental systems operate.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4051 Basel
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.