Title: Mesoscale Computational Biophysics: From Cytoskeleton Percolation to Tissue Mechanics

Abstract:

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary field that combines physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics to understand complex problems in living systems. While it is best known for addressing molecular-level problems, its range of applicability also extends to the cell and tissue scales, often borrowing concepts from soft and active matter. In this talk, I will highlight two recent stories from my group, where we used theoretical and computational approaches to understand problems at these higher length scales. In the first story (at the cell level), I will introduce the problem of connectivity in cytoskeletal systems—a network of filaments and motors that drive the generation and transmission of forces in cells—and how a simple theoretical approach can be used to predict network outcomes in both in vivo and in vitro systems. In the second story (at the tissue level), I will present results from a new microscopy technique (bio-Brillouin) that revealed rapid changes in cell material properties during tissue development (on the order of minutes), and a physical model that demonstrates how these dynamic changes in both space and time optimize morphogenesis.

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