Centre for Cellular Life

Tsinghua/LSI Exeter Partnership

Centre for Cellular Life: Connecting Science Across Borders

A partnership between the Living Systems Institute and Tsinghua University

The Centre for Cellular Life (CCL) is a joint initiative between the Living Systems Institute (LSI), University of Exeter, and Tsinghua University. The Centre brings together world-leading expertise in cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, and biophysics to address a fundamental question in modern biology: how cells function, organise, and communicate in health and disease.

Built on the distinctive interdisciplinary model of the LSI - where biology, physics, mathematics, and engineering come together under one roof - the CCL creates a powerful framework for discovery science with long-term relevance for human health. By combining this approach with Tsinghua’s internationally recognised strengths in membrane biology and cellular systems, the Centre enables truly integrated and global research.

The CCL is designed as a long-term and dynamic collaboration platform, supporting joint research projects, researcher mobility, doctoral training, and shared scientific exchange. It connects researchers across institutions and disciplines, creating new opportunities for innovation and high-impact discovery.

The Centre is guided by a joint Steering Committee comprising Prof Steffen Scholpp (LSI) and Prof Kirsty Wan (LSI), and Prof Li Yu (Tsinghua) and Dr Fan Zhou (Tsinghua), ensuring strong scientific leadership and balanced strategic development.

Beyond its core leadership, the CCL links a growing network of researchers across both institutions, particularly through Tsinghua’s State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology and School of Life Sciences. The partnership is further supported by the Global Engagement and International Relations teams at Exeter and Tsinghua, who play a key role in enabling mobility, coordination, and long-term sustainability of the collaboration.

Together, the Centre positions the LSI as a global hub for interdisciplinary life science research and strengthens a shared ambition to advance fundamental biology with impact on human health and wellbeing.

Catalysing collaborations within CCL

LSI–Tsinghua Catalyst Scheme: Turning ideas into impact

To drive early-stage collaboration, the CCL supports joint pilot projects through the LSI–Tsinghua Catalyst Scheme. This programme provides matched seed funding of £5,000 from LSI and £5,000 from Tsinghua for projects running up to 24 months.

The scheme is designed to:

Enable new interdisciplinary collaborations
Generate strong preliminary data
Deliver high-quality scientific outputs
Position teams for major external funding (e.g. UKRI, NSFC, HFSP, ERC)

Projects supported through the Catalyst Scheme are expected to be ambitious and focused, with the potential to lead to publications in leading journals and to develop into larger, independently funded research programmes.

ECR Exchange Programme: Bridging science across continents

The Centre for Cellular Life (CCL) ECR Exchange Programme offers an exciting opportunity for PhD students and early-career researchers to engage in international, interdisciplinary research across Exeter and Tsinghua.

Participants benefit from:

Hands-on experience in two world-leading research environments
Access to complementary expertise, technologies, and model systems
Opportunities to build international collaborations and networks
Exposure to diverse academic cultures and scientific perspectives

Through exchange visits, joint workshops, and collaborative research projects, the programme empowers early-career scientists to broaden their horizons and accelerate their career development.

We strongly encourage PhD students and ECRs to engage with the CCL and take advantage of this unique platform to shape their future in global science.

News from the Centre for Cellular Life

Second Joint Symposium: New Dimensions in Cellular Life (Sept 2026)

The second symposium of the Centre for Cellular Life (CCL) symposium "New Dimensions in Cellular Life" was held in September 2026 at the Living Systems Institute.
The three-day meeting brought together researchers from the LSI and Tsinghua to share science, identify new areas of collaboration and strengthen the growing partnership between our institutions.

Following a welcome from the Vice-President Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova, the scientific programme explored fundamental questions in cellular life – from cell-cell communication to stem-cell potency, lineage specification, cilia, imaging and protein dynamics to applications of new sensor techniques in the clinic.

Highlights included complementary presentations from the 4 directors of the CCL: Li Yu and Steffen Scholpp on contact-mediated cellular communication; Fan Zhou on cell potency and early mammalian development; and Kirsty Wan on cilia formation and dynamics, complemented by many more exciting talks from colleagues from the Living Systems Institute and partnering departments, from human functional genomics (Jon Mill) to sensor technology in the clinic (Nick Stone).

The meeting also marked the launch of an important new phase of the Centre for Cellular Life: the PhD mobility programme between the Living Systems Institute Exeter and Tsinghua. The scheme will enable doctoral researchers to spend time in partner laboratories, access complementary expertise and technologies, and develop joint research projects. Plans are already underway to expand this exchange with longer postdoctoral secondments in the next academic year.

Launching a Global Partnership (Jan 2026)

The Centre for Cellular Life (CCL) was formally established in January 2026 during a visit by senior members of the University of Exeter to Tsinghua University. The delegation, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Lisa Roberts, marked a significant milestone in the partnership.

During the visit, the collaboration agreement was officially signed by senior representatives of both institutions, including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, formalising the creation of a long-term strategic platform for joint research and training. This moment represents the transition from shared vision to structured collaboration, laying the foundation for future scientific breakthroughs.

Exeter President Professor Lisa Roberts President and Tsinghua President Professor Li Luming

First Joint Symposium: New Paradigms in Cellular Life (Dec 2025)

The origins of the Centre trace back to the Tsinghua–Exeter Joint Symposium on New Paradigms in Cellular Life, held in December 2025 at Tsinghua University.

This inaugural meeting brought together researchers from both institutions to explore emerging concepts in cellular dynamics, developmental regulation, and interdisciplinary approaches to complex biological systems. The symposium fostered vibrant scientific exchange, identified key areas of mutual interest, and catalysed new collaborations.

Importantly, it established a shared scientific vision and momentum that directly led to the formation of the Centre for Cellular Life.