Current Research Projects:

  • Mechanics of the Nucleus and Mechano-Regulation of Transcription
  • Morphogenesis of the Force-Generating Machinery in Cells
  • High-Resolution Stress-Field Mapping in Fiber Networks and Cells
  • Structure and Formation of Stress Fibers in Adult Stem Cells
  • Non-Linear Elasticity of Hybrid Hydrogels as Extracellular Matrix Models
  • Experimental and Theoretical Study of Cellular Mechano-Sensitivity
  • Mechano-Sensitivity of Cellular Clusters and Tissue

Research Interests:

  • micro mechanics of cells
  • biophysics of cell-matrix interactions
  • stem cell differentiation
  • mechanics of the nucleus and the transcription machinery
  • structure and mechanics of the ECM
  • novel polymeric ECM models
  • biofunctional surfaces
  • biomimetic in vivo models

Experimental techniques:

  • atomic force microscopy
  • fluorescence and DIC microscopy
  • confocal microscopy
  • optical trapping
  • cell culture
  • transfection
  • surface chemistry functionalization
  • polymer physics and chemistry
  • rheology
  • x-ray and neutron scattering and reflectometry
  • ellipsometry