Max Bi

Sponsor: NIH

Integrative biophysical modeling for collective tissue mechanics

Organ surfaces, made of epithelial or endothelial cells, serve as physical barriers. These cells are generally static but can transition to a dynamic, migratory state during physiological processes like development and repair. Traditional studies focus on these cells in 2D flat surfaces, which doesn’t translate well to natural epithelia that often have curved geometries and varied topologies like spheres and tubes. Key questions remain about how curvature affects cell collective movement and the mechanics of multilayered tissues like mammalian epidermis. These issues are particularly critical during epidermal development, where cues and timescale-dependent mechanics are not well understood. To address these gaps, I plan to develop computational models that go beyond the conventional 2D approach, incorporating curved and multilayered 3D surfaces. This will include new models exploring the biomechanical relationship between nuclear shapes and cell proliferation.