Join Professor Lisa Manning from Syracuse University for a Force Talk entitled "Predicting mechanics of 3D epithelia in vertebrate embryonic development".

Abstract:

In vertebrates, the formation and maintenance of complex three-dimensional shapes in epithelia drives several important developmental processes. In addition, a collection of recent discoveries both in vivo and in vitro suggests that the collective mechanical response of a tissue (its fluidity or rheology) helps to control morphogenetic events. Therefore, there is a need to develop fully 3D biophysical models for epithelia that can predict or validate how global tissue mechanics impacts the structure and function of epithelia. In this talk, I will discuss several recent projects by our group and collaborators to develop such models for specific model systems, including tissue homeostasis and placode formation in mouse skin, where there are interesting interactions between cell shapes, epithelial architecture, and tissue fluidity. I will highlight how an interplay between models and experiments can help to drive a better mechanistic understanding of the processes that drive 3D tissue structure and function, especially when multiple mechanisms are operating at the same time.

Speaker

Lisa Manning is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics at Syracuse University and studies emergent behaviour in biological tissues, disordered solids, and mechanical metamaterials. She earned her B.S. in Physics and B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Virginia in 2002, before attending graduate school at UC Santa Barbara, where she earned a Ph.D. in Physics in 2008, advised by Jean Carlson and James Langer. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science from 2008 until she joined faculty at Syracuse University in 2011. Prof. Manning has given over 150 invited talks and published 72 peer-reviewed articles. She has received several honours and awards including being named to the Science News “Top 10 Scientists to watch” list, 2018 Maria Goeppert Mayer Award from the APS, 2016 IUPAP Young Investigator Prize, a Simons Investigator award, a Sloan Fellowship, a Scialog award, as well as several teaching awards. As an NSF CAREER awardee and a Cottrell Scholar, she has also developed innovative programs to help recruit and retain a diverse group of scientists in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields.

How to join:

This event will take place online via Microsoft Teams. Register for this event to receive the meeting link and be notified of updates.

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