Mechanics of biological surface morphogenesis
Biological entities are separated from their environment by surfaces. For instance, embryos are delimited by a cell monolayer, and cells are delimited by a lipid bilayer. These surfaces have different biological functions and sizes, but share a common viscoelastic nature. My lab explores the common biological and mechanical mechanisms by which these surfaces are deformed during physiological processes such as membrane traffic or organogenesis.
Keywords
Membrane traffic / ESCRT proteins / dynamin / membrane tension / physics of biology / epithelium / morphogenesis / in-vitro reconstitution