01
Physical cues cells sense
We design biomaterial platforms with tunable structure, mechanics, and dynamics to map the physical input space that regulates cell behavior.
Research program
How do cells process mechanical information?
We study the flow of mechanical information from extracellular materials to intracellular structures and gene regulatory states, with the long-term goal of designing cell-instructive biomaterials for health and disease.
We study the flow of mechanical information from extracellular materials to intracellular structures and gene regulatory states, with the long-term goal of designing cell-instructive biomaterials for health and disease.
02
Transmission into the nucleus
We combine live-cell imaging and mechanical perturbations to determine how forces are transmitted through the cytoskeleton to chromatin and nuclear architecture.
03
Condensates as material states
We investigate how biomolecular condensates encode mechanical and biochemical information through their formation, composition, dynamics, and function.
04
Nuclear mechanics in disease
We ask how altered extracellular mechanics in disease states regulate nuclear condensates, chromatin organization, and gene expression programs.
05
Quantitative imaging tools
We develop high-throughput imaging and image analysis workflows to map nuclear phase behavior and cell state transitions across perturbations.
06
Mechanomemory
We explore how cells store information about past mechanical environments and whether condensate material states contribute to this memory.