Computational Cell Fate

Research group

The Computational Cell Fate group at Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS) employs theoretical, computational and bioinformatic tools to understand how cell fate (i.e., decisions about the future state of a cell) is regulated in development and disease through cell-to-cell and cell-environment interactions.

Research focus

In the contemporary scientific landscape, novel computational tools are key to extract deeper insight from increasingly complex experimental datasets. Our research group, led by Federico Bocci, addresses this challenge by integrating physics/mathematics with deep learning to extract interpretable causal mechanisms from high dimensional single cell data. We use these models to investigate fundamental questions about cell behavior including 1) How do cells convert noisy signals from their surrounding environment into robust decisions? and 2) How is information relayed across spatial scales from genes to cells and to tissues through multilayered regulatory networks? We collaborate with other group at RIMLS and internationally to validate and apply these predictions to multiple biological contexts including developmental trajectories and cancer progression.

Federico Bocci is a physicist by training, but his interest to apply physical laws to active matter and living systems progressively pushed him toward life science. He integrates mechanims-based (mathematical and biophysical modeling) and data-driven (machine and deep learning) computational approaches to characterize gene regulation, cell differentiation, and cell-cell communication in development and disease.