Researchers at the Living Systems Institute (LSI), University of Exeter, in collaboration with scientists of the University of Manchester, have been awarded a £3.5 million Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate how cells exchange information to coordinate the formation of tissues and organs.

The seven-year project, led by Professor Steffen Scholpp working together with the co-applicants Professor Kyle Wedgwood, Professor Hilary Ashe and Dr Cerys Manning, will explore the role of cytonemes – long, thin cellular protrusions – in mediating signalling during development.

Using a combination of advanced imaging, computational modelling, and cross-species approaches, the interdisciplinary team will reveal how these specialised filopodia transport key signalling molecules to shape developing tissues.

Professor Scholpp said: “Our goal is to uncover the fundamental rules that govern how cells communicate across distances. By understanding how cytonemes coordinate signalling, we can reveal new principles of tissue organisation relevant to both development and disease.”

The teams in Exeter are excited to work closely with the Manchester teams, enabling a cross-species comparison of cytoneme function in zebrafish, mice, and fruit flies. This collaboration will, for the first time, provide a holistic picture of cytoneme-mediated communication across species.

The project will address both the structure and function of cytonemes, linking this knowledge to diseases in which cells fail to communicate properly, such as developmental disorders and cancer.

The award will strengthen the interdisciplinary research environment in Exeter by bridging quantitative modelling and experimental cell biology, continuing the mission of the LSI to unite biology, mathematics, and physics to understand the living world.