Lucy Shapiro
Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Developmental Biology, Stanford University
2020 Dickson Prize in Science Award Ceremony and Lecture
The Living Cell as an Integrated System
How does a cell execute the many functions that define a living entity? We discovered that robust chemically and genetically based logic circuits control cell cycle progression and cell differentiation. A critical question is how these control systems function in time and space within a tiny bacterial cell with just 4,000 genes. We have observed strong parallels between these “genetic circuits” and familiar engineering circuits. These expanding insights are providing unprecedented understanding of the asymmetric cell differentiation process essential to producing the diverse organisms found on the Earth.