How do mechanical compression and molecular crowding affect cell biology and drive diseases like cancer, aging and neurodegeneration?

control of the intracellular environment

How are the biophysical properties of cells controlled? How does the complex, crowded cellular environment impact information processing?

the effects of pressure on cancer

The overgrowth of cancer cells within a confined space leads to the build up of pressure. How do cancer cells adapt to this unusual mechanical environment?

THe physical biology of neurodegeneration

What triggers neurodegeneration? What are the biophysical properties of neural cells? How do they change with age and stress?

interactions between tissues and cells

How do tissue mechanics impact cell biology?

Synthetic biology

Can we understand biology by building systems from scratch? Can we create useful new tools?