SIC Seminar with Professor Shalin Naik - Clonal Biology

Talk title: Clonal Biology

Any cell that divides to create two or more cells forms a clone. In our laboratory, we explore the fundamental principles governing clonal behaviour, whether during haematopoiesis, immune responses, embryogenesis, or cancer progression.

We believe that by deeply studying clonal fate across functional and molecular dimensions, and integrating these insights, we can unlock the underlying mechanisms that shape biology in both health and disease.

Our lab is committed equally to innovating clonal technologies and computational methods, as we are to answering fundamental biological questions. Over the past five years, we have co-developed pioneering barcoding tools (SPLINTR, Loxcode, FISHcodes) and advanced computational frameworks.

Our discoveries have articulated the patterns and molecular underpinning controlling lineage bias and clonal trajectories in haematopoiesis in the generation of immune cell types, revealed the intricacies of haematopoietic stem cell division in their native environments, provided insights into why cancer clones differ in their aggressiveness, metastatic potential, and treatment resistance, and have simulated the pedigree of clones during embryonic development.

Crucially, by tracing the destinies of daughter cells descended from a single progenitor—an approach known as "clone splitting"—we've found that many essential properties are intrinsic to each clone, presumably encoded by yet-to-be-identified epigenetic programs passed down from their founding cells.

These discoveries by us and numerous others have unveiled an exciting new paradigm: "clonal memory." We now understand that many cellular traits, including growth potential, differentiation capacity, function, and treatment sensitivity, are inherited to a far greater extent than previously imagined. Cells carry forward a memory of their origins, shaping their future behaviours in profound ways.

We believe that by being able to better understand the traits and mechanistic underpinnings, it will lead to a deeper understanding of biology, with potential therapeutic applications.

Recent publication:

Weber et al., Cell 2025

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092867425004611