Dr Falk Schneider

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

Scientific Background

Research Interests

I am a biochemist by training and excited to understand how molecular motion of bio-molecules translates to biological function across scales. It is utterly fascinating that the nano-scale interaction of only a few proteins such as transmembrane receptors binding their to ligands or transcription factors binding to DNA, can completely reshape the structure and function of a cell and even impact on whole tissues and organisms. To study these processes, I employ a variety of imaging, spectroscopy and molecular biology tools as well as in vitro model membrane systems, cell culture models, and animal models. Ultimately, I build tools and aim to answer fundamental questions about the dynamic organization of biological systems from the bottom up.

At the heart of my research are the development, advancement, and application of fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy methods to quantitatively follow cellular and sub-cellular dynamics.

Scientific Inspiration

Ludwig Boltzmann for recognizing and describing a fundamental law of nature, entropy (S=k·lnΩ). His work connecting the microscopic and macroscopic world through statistical mechanics is profoundly influential impacting the fields of physics, mathematics, and biology. Boltzmann’s dedication despite lack of the support from the scientific community at the time, serves as a powerful example of resilience.

Speak the truth, write with clarity, and defend it to your very end. – Ludwig Boltzmann

Research Groups

Schneider Group

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: supportive, organised, collaborative.

Provision of Training

My goal is to allow the student to reach independent working and thinking as fast as possible. Technical training for wet lab techniques, microscopy and data analysis will be a collaborative effort and provided by myself and others in the team.

Progression Monitoring and Management

We will develop a research plan and timeline together, set aims and objectives, and keep updating it along the way. Weekly meetings including discussions and troubleshooting will help you to mature your project, take ownership, and develop your own ideas.

Communication

I communicate openly and honestly and am often available for a face-to-face meeting in the lab or office. I am very responsive to emails but might send them at odd times. I do not expect out-of-hour responses.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once per fortnight

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once per fortnight

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once per fortnight

These meetings will be a mixture of face-to-face, via video chat or telephone. I am usually contactable for an instant response 3 or 4 days a week.

Work Patterns

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings), I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week’s notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Current Projects (2025-26)

Primary supervisor for:

Plasma membrane organisation in tissue formation and patterning

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Plasma membrane organisation in tissue formation and patterning

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Darius Koester

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Strategic Research Priority:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Neuroscience and Behaviour, Systems Biology)
Integrated Understanding of Health (Regenerative Biology)

Project Outline

What is the role of plasma membrane organisation in tissue formation and patterning?

Tissue development and patterning rely on an intricate interplay of cellular interactions, gene regulatory networks, morphogens, and environmental/mechanical cues. At the heart of these interactions is the plasma membrane, a dynamic structure that acts as both a physical boundary and a critical hub for signalling. Despite its importance, how plasma membrane organization such as lipid packing, fluidity, and spatial heterogeneity contributes to or even controls tissue development by modulating receptor interactions remains poorly understood.

The optically transparent zebrafish embryo offers an ideal model organism for real-time quantification of the molecular mechanisms involved in morphogenesis. The zebrafish hindbrain, with its rapid and dramatic morphological changes during development, offers an excellent system for exploring this question.

In the first part of the project, we will investigate the role of plasma membrane organisation in hindbrain development using an array of microscopy approaches. We will exploit biosensors and so-called smart probes to not only label the membrane but also report on its local structure (solvatochromism). While such measurements are well-established in vitro, translating these to the full physiological context of an intact tissue in the developing zebrafish hindbrain will provide unprecedented insights into the physiological relevance of membrane biophysics in developmental contexts. Initial objectives will be optimization of labelling, establishing microscopy and image analysis, and correlating plasma membrane heterogeneities with tissue mechanics.

In the second part of the project, we will investigate Eph-Ephrin receptor organisation and signalling in hindbrain development. Expression of these transmembrane and membrane-anchored receptors is believed to provide cells with positional information within the tissue. Eph-Ephrin reorganisation and clustering at the membrane have been proposed to play a key role in signalling, yet their functional consequences in vivo remain unclear. Initial objectives include establishing Eph/Ephrin reporter zebrafish lines, optimizing fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy to assess receptor organization, and correlating local membrane structure with Eph-Ephrin dynamics.

We will augment these in vivo experiments by in vitro reconstitution of the key components using model membrane systems (Köster Lab). This will allow us to compare Eph-Ephrin clustering in vitro and in vivo to elucidate functional consequence of this process and to investigate the role of mechanical inputs on their interaction. Finally, we will adopt a synthetic biology approach and create artificial cells which will be embedded within the hindbrain tissue to study membrane and receptor organisation in a hybrid system.

This interdisciplinary project will fundamentally advance our understanding of how plasma membrane organisation influences tissue development and further our understanding of the rules of life. Implications extend beyond developmental biology to fields such as synthetic biology, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. This project will be a team effort and is ideally suited for either trained biologists aiming to further their quantitative imaging skills or for physicists/engineers aiming to start a journey in the physics of life.

References

Schneider, F., Cespedes, P.F., Karedla, N. et al. Quantifying biomolecular organisation in membranes with brightness-transit statistics. Nat Commun 15, 7082 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51435-1.

Owen DM, Magenau A, Majumdar A, Gaus K. Imaging membrane lipid order in whole, living vertebrate organisms. Biophys J 99(1):L7-9 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2010.04.022.