Nathan Sniadecki, Ph.D.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
E-mail: nsniadec@u...


TITLE:

"Cell Force Sensors: Mechanics and Mechanotransduction of Cells at the Micro- and Nano-Scale"

ABSTRACT:

The cellular microenvironment acts a niche to regulate cellular function
and is defined in part by mechanical factors such as adhesivity,
stiffness, stresses, and strains at the micro- and nano-scale.  Several
of these factors have been implicated in regulating the physiological
and pathological progress of individual cells.  Given the importance of
understanding how cells sense and respond to mechanical factors, it has
been difficult to characterize cell mechanics and mechanotransduction
thus far because current techniques are poorly suited to measure cells
in a physical manner.  In my presentation, I will discuss the
engineering approaches we are using to measure cellular forces and to
control the mechanical factors in the cellular microenvironment.  We are
focusing our studies on the mechanics of cells in the cardiovascular
system in order to identify the mechanical signatures that distinguish
between normal and maladaptive states in cells.  We use 1)
microfabricated arrays of flexible post force-sensors for measuring and
applying forces, 2) bio-functional materials to control the
physiochemical presentation to cells, and 3) computational approaches
for image analysis and cell mechanics models.  Together these
engineering approaches advance a pathway towards understanding how cells
operate in a physical world.