The core team of the Tenovus Scotland-funded Small Pilot Grant project "Leveraging mechanobiology for the optimisation of in vitro muscle-related disease models" is on the case😊, with a strong 4th&5th year students-driven component! @unistrathclyde.bsky.social @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social

Alexandre, from @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social, will share how our team is developing “symbiotic engineered living materials” — 3D constructs where genetically engineered helper cells detect metabolic cues from mesenchymal stem cells and respond by secreting lineage-specific growth factors.

We are very happy 😄 that our Rheinland-Pfalz & Scotland exchange project started, jointly awarded by @sulsa.bsky.social and JGU Scotland Hub, sponsored by the governments of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 & Rheinland-Pfalz. 1/2 @unistrathclyde.bsky.social @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social @imbmainz.bsky.social @unimainz.bsky.social

As we mark #PrideMonth, we take this moment to celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and also reflect on the ongoing work to make our universities places where every member can thrive. Thank you to colleagues for co-authoring this powerful piece on Rainbow Office Hours ➡️ gla.ac/3Zio6uv #OneTeamUofG 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

New review paper out! Proud to co-author with @optophysakhil.bsky.social and @gailmcconnell.bsky.social a deep dive into Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy (FPM), from physics to cutting-edge algorithms & medical imaging applications. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

A little more than a year that @carmeloferrai.bsky.social and I published our review "Mechanotransduction in stem cells"🤯! I'm happy that it was received well 😃! Stay tuned, more to come in this direction in a not too far future😎.

At the Center of the Cellular Microenvironment’s impact workshop. Really enjoying the space to think together about where cell engineering and mechanobiology are headed. @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social @unistrathclyde.bsky.social

A chat with Prof. Viola Vogel (Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich), whose pioneering work in mechanobiology has been key to show that proteins act as mechano-chemical switches which can be exploited in the treatment of various diseases. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

Happy to share our latest review 'Mechanical signatures and models of the bone marrow niche' in Nature Reviews Bioengineering. Led by Dora Rogkoti. @hannahdonnelly.bsky.social @manuelsalmeron.bsky.social Read the full review here: rdcu.be/ejGx4

Congratulations to Anna Maria Kapetanaki who passed her PhD viva this week! 🎉 🥳 💓:

Thanks, I'm happy that you like it😊. Indeed, another critical component is molecular clutch force loading: bsky.app/profile/cars...

...can involve also other cell adhesion receptors (e.g., GPI-anchored, such as uPAR, or maybe syndecans, DDRs?) 2/2:

Consistently, some years later (2019), Changede et al. (Sheetz group) showed the existence of integrin nanoclusters bridges build up by activated, but unliganded, integrins. The binding to the thin matrix fibres was mediated by integrins in this case, but it's intriguing to think that this 1/2

I delved even deeper into this a few years later, further highlighting the importance of talin-mediated molecular clutch force loading in this process: 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This ligand binding-independent integrin signalling was driven by membrane tension. Indeed, the induction of this non-canonical integrin signalling was not restricted to uPAR/vitronectin interaction. This work introduced the cell membrane as a critical component of the molecular clutch.

This study assessed the possibility of ligand-independent adhesion signalling by integrins, which was a quite controversial hypothesis at the time (maybe still is). We found that e.g. uPAR-mediated adhesion to vitronectin can induce integrin signalling that does not require integrin ligand binding:

Interesting 🧵on a classic mechanotransduction paper of one of our members introducing the concept of ligand binding-independent integrin signalling driven by membrane tension:

The abstract submission deadline of BioMedEng2025 @biomedgen25.bsky.social has been extended. You still have the chance to submit until the 19th of May: 👉 biomedeng.org/biomedeng25/

I’m one (very) lucky supervisor! open.spotify.com/episode/43O3... @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social

In this work my team and co-workers demonstrated a purely mechanically regulated route for #StemCell #Chondrogenesis via engineering of the hydrogels #viscous nature. No #growthfactors needed. Conducted @uofglasgow.bsky.social @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social Funded @ukri.org

Great to see that our work on #viscoelastic #hydrogels for #cartilage #TissueEngineering was one of the most-read papers in Advanced Healthcare Materials @mattjwalker.bsky.social @delphe.bsky.social @manlio-tassieri.bsky.social Check it out here doi.org/10.1002/adhm... 🧪

Maybe the opportunity of your life, become the Head of the wonderful Department of Biomedical Engineering @unistrathclyde.bsky.social in Glasgow in beautiful 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 : 👉 jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/671921/h...

Maybe the opportunity of your life, become the Head of the wonderful Department of Biomedical Engineering @unistrathclyde.bsky.social in Glasgow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 : 👉 www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Our colleagues at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the @unistrathclyde.bsky.social are searching for a new Head of Department:

Our colleagues at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the @unistrathclyde.bsky.social are searching for a new Head of Department:

Thanks @kimiawitte.bsky.social for organising this special event 😊! Many members of @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social had the pleasure to listen to David Weitz' talk and to discuss cool science with him afterwards.

A very useful review for everyone who wants to learn more about the importance of ECM viscoelasticity in mechanotransduction and (patho)physiology.

Fantastic opportunity in a fantastic emerging group:

📣Job Alert 📣 Research Technician position available (Part Time) to come and work with my lovely team at The Centre for the Celular Microenvironment @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social, at UofGlasgow. Where we are developing 3D models of lymphoid tissues - bone marrow, lymph nodes, tonsils.

Don't miss it, a great opportunity to get in touch with one of the pioneers of mechanobiology, bioengineering, soft matter physics and biophysics!

Congratulations to the @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social social media team who have interviewed Viola Vogel on her career and recent developments in #mechanobiology podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... 🧪 💉 🩸 🔬

This is really a prime example that falls into this category: 👉 bsky.app/profile/carm...

This review on mechanotransduction in neuronal cells that I wrote in 2019, together with Matteo Chighizola, Tania Dini, Cristina Lenardi, Paolo Milani and Alessandro Podesta' (all not yet on bluesky), reached 100 citations😊🎇, would have never thought it back then: 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A fun evening at Glasgow Science Centre Lates! Last night we took some activities along to the event for adults, discussing how different forces affect cell fate. That’s a wrap on British Science week for CeMi 🔬🧬🧫!

Thanks for having us Glasgow Science Centre! Another fun public engagement event 🔬🧬🧠:

What actually got you into science and what you do now? Me: There was no beginning, it was always science.. open.spotify.com/episode/70de... @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social

This is indeed a beautiful review, I enjoyed reading it. Not only a lot of information on #MaterialStiffness but also #Topography 😊. Happy to see that it is cited a lot, well-deserved:

Looking for #MaterialStiffness of #BasementMembrane across tissues? Excellent literature resource here😆👇 The basement membrane as a structured surface – role in vascular health and disease @claireleclech.bsky.social @jcellsci.bsky.social 2020 journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

If you are interested in these aspects in other cell biological contexts, have a look at my two reviews on mechanotransduction in neuronal and stem cells: 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @[email protected]

More and more researchers find their way to bluesky, therefore we re-advertise our "Cellular Microenvironment" starter pack😊. Contact us, if you want to be added: 👉 go.bsky.app/jhvVHF

Glasgow & the Department of Biomedical Engineering @unistrathclyde.bsky.social will be the hosts of @biomedeng25.bsky.social this year (4th and 5th of September) to gather a blend of the finest bioengineers. Abstract submission is open: 👉 biomedeng.org/biomedeng25/ 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhjL...

You may have seen that our abstracts are now open... but did you know that BioMedEng25 is also awarding a special prize for Inclusive Design?

This week we held our PPIE (Patient and Public Involvement & Engagement) ResearchTogether event at the Edgbaston Park Hotel & Conference Centre. It connected patients with living conditions, carers, clinicians, charities and researchers.

Yesterday, we had the great pleasure to host @merrylabnotts.bsky.social at our Department @unistrathclyde.bsky.social. Thanks for your amazing talk about the wonderful world of the glycocalyx! Thanks, in particular, also for great conversations about science and so much more☺️!

Leaving @unistrathclyde.bsky.social after a fun and useful visit hosted by @carstenschulte4.bsky.social . Thank you again and let’s combine forces (!) to get to grips with the glycocalyx

@merrylabnotts.bsky.social Cathy Merry vistited Strathclyde University hosted by @carstenschulte4.bsky.social bio-mat-sketches-mor.blogspot.com/2025/02/cath... #sketchnote

Check out this paper in Advanced Science, great collaboration between UMONS Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship @sgabriele.bsky.social & @giusciccone.bsky.social, @manuelsalmeron.bsky.social, both @ibecbarcelona.eu & @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social: 👉 doi.org/10.1002/advs...

Great vibes from Glasgow @theglasgowcemi.bsky.social "Vibration-based cell engineering" www.nature.com/articles/s44...

CeMi around the world! Latest blog by Emma Jackson from CDT LifETIME on her exciting PhD placement at Politecnica de Valencia, working with Dr. Gloria Gallego-Ferrer at the Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (CBIT) ☀️ 👉 glasgow.thecemi.org/2025/01/31/c...

Huge congratulations to Marta Cubero Sarabia, passing her PhD viva last week 🥳 🎉 👏