About
The Pe’er lab combines machine learning algorithms with single-cell and spatial profiling technologies to address fundamental questions in biomedical science. In 2005, Dr. Pe’er pioneered large-scale analytics in the single-cell field with the insight that cell-to-cell variability can be used to reconstruct how genes are regulated. Her group devised a conceptual and mathematical framework to model all possible cell states within tissues along geometric manifolds. They contributed foundational methods for identifying and visualizing cell types and states, and demonstrated that it is possible to infer continuous cell state transitions, or trajectories, that cells undertake in developmental and disease processes. The lab applies its computational approaches to study important questions in cancer, immunology and development, such as how cells decide their fate, how cell identity and behavior are regulated, the role of plasticity in homeostasis and disease, and how diverse cell types act in a coordinated fashion in tissues.
Awards
- International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Innovator award
- Ernst W. Bertner Memorial Award - MD Anderson Cancer Center
- NIH Director’s Pioneer Award
- International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Overton Prize
- Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering - The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Relevant Publications
- Bendall SC*, Davis KL*, Amir el-AD*, Tadmor MD, Simonds EF, Chen TJ, Shenfeld DK, Nolan GP†, Pe'er D†. Single-cell trajectory detection uncovers progression and regulatory coordination in human B cell development. Cell. 2014 Apr 24;157(3):714-25. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.04.005. PMID: 24766814
- Azizi E*, Carr AJ*, Plitas G*, Cornish AE*, Konopacki C, Prabhakaran S, Nainys J, Wu K, Kiseliovas V, Setty M, Choi K, Fromme RM, Dao P, McKenney PT, Wasti RC, Kadaveru K, Mazutis L, Rudensky AY†, Pe'er D†. Single-Cell Map of Diverse Immune Phenotypes in the Breast Tumor Microenvironment. Cell. 2018 Aug 23;174(5):1293-1308.e36. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.05.060. PMID: 29961579
- Nowotschin S*, Setty M*, Kuo YY, Liu V, Garg V, Sharma R, Simon CS, Saiz N, Gardner R, Boutet SC, Church DM, Hoodless PA, Hadjantonakis AK†, Pe'er D†. The emergent landscape of the mouse gut endoderm at single-cell resolution. Nature. 2019 May;569(7756):361-367. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1127-1. PMID: 30959515
Support Us
CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.