Dr Joaquin De Navascues

Biography

I am interested in how cells make fate decisions such as differentiation, division, quiescence or cell death. These basic cellular operations are essential during growth and morphogenesis in development, but also during adult homeostasis. They occur in a strikingly reproducible manner and this implies that there are quantitative constrains that cells, individually or as populations, must observe. In disease, and in particular in Cancer, these constrains are not respected. I want to understand how cells integrate cues from their environment to make decisions about their fate, both in development and homeostasis, and how these decisions are coordinated in tissues during the life span of an organism. The way I approach this question is through an integration of classical genetic approaches, quantitative data analysis (mostly from imaging) and modelling through collaboration with theoreticians. I use a champion model system for in vivo studies, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, focussing on the regulation of adult intestinal stem cells. In particular I want to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that result in the neutral competition of stem cell lineages, as this is important for the cellular dynamics that precede and promote tumorigenesis, and identify the mechanisms that govern the balance betwen different differentiation outcomes for tissue stem cells. Another point of interest for me is radiobiology, particularly the late effects of ionising radiation on tissues. This is a complex phenomenon whose phenomenology goes beyond the usual immediate effects of radiation (apoptosis, mitotic catastrophe, oxidative stress), and is of fundamental importance in the delivery of radiotherapy to cancer patients. I have a broad interest in the regulation of gene expression, the influence of the environment (e.g. chemicals or the microbiome) in influencing host physiology, innate immunity, and transgenic technologies.