CENTER FOR CELLULAR MECHANICS | UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
There is increasing experimental evidence suggesting that extracellular and intracellular mechanical forces have a profound influence on a wide range of cell behavior such as growth, differentiation, apoptosis, gene expression, adhesion and signal transduction. Study of cell mechanics has drawn considerable attention from diverse fields, including biology, physics, biochemistry, and bioengineering.
The studies are motivated by three primary reasons:
(1) understanding mechanotransduction - how cells transduce mechanical stimuli into biochemical processes and vice versa,
(2) disease detection: is there a mechanical signature for a disease state, and
(3) functionality change – can cell behavior be tuned by mechanical stimuli, such as expedite growth for tissue engineering.
Recent advances in micro-nano technology offer unique opportunities for probing biological phenomena at a cellular and sub-cellular scale, and may have a profound impact on the field of cell mechanics.
The Center is affiliated with Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics and Molecular Medicine (GEM4)
CCM Summer Course on Cell Mechano-sensitivity
July 30 - August 3, 2007
Course coordinators: Taher Saif, Hanafy Fouly, and Irfan Ahmad
Course Description (with presentation slides and videos of lectures)
* NSF Fellowship * (Application deadline: June 30, 2007)
Held in conjunction with Summer School on: Multiscale Theory, Simulated and Reality at Nano-Bio Interface