On Thursday, June 25, a seminar titled “Active dynamics of epithelial tissues” will be held in Grandori Room (Building 4) at 14:00 CET.
The seminar will be given by Prof. Alexandre Kabla, University of Cambridge.
Abstract
Epithelial tissues play a crucial role during embryonic development and in adult organisms, forming essential physiological barriers within the body. These tissues frequently undergo and even instigate significant deformations while maintaining mechanical integrity. This presentation examines the autonomous force-generating behaviours of epithelial tissues and their mechanical consequences, emphasizing theoretical and computational modelling strategies. Experimental investigations of in vitro MDCK cell monolayers reveal spontaneous contractility that generates tissue-scale tension and induces curling at free edges, behaviours absent in isolated cells but emergent at the collective level. Epithelial tissues also continuously remodel through cell neighbour exchanges, particularly during embryonic morphogenesis when coordinated cell rearrangements drive large-scale tissue flows. The interplay between active force generation and passive mechanical response determines the rate and spatial organization of these processes. Through modelling, we investigate how individual cell rheology, active contractility, and mechanical coupling give rise to tissue-scale behaviours. Our findings reveal that mechanical coupling amplifies both internal and external mechanical signals, creating sensitivity to stress states and boundary conditions that cannot be predicted from single-cell properties alone.
Bio-sketch
Professor Alexandre is a professor of mechanobiology in the Engineering Department. He trained as a physicist and computer scientist. His early research focused on the mechanics of sandcastles and liquid foams. He then progressively drifted towards fibrous materials, and later to biological tissues and cell mechanics in general.
His group’s research focuses on the mechanobiology of tissues. They use numerical and analytical modelling, as well as experimentation, to study how cell assemblies respond to forces and control their mechanical properties, as well as how active processes such as cell migration lead to tissue morphogenesis.
His research is collaborative and interdisciplinary. From a technical perspective, the group has expertise in soft matter physics, rheology, mechanical characterisation of materials, microfluidics, and scientific software engineering.