Cell and Molecular Biology

Biophysics and Biomechanics

The growing importance of biomechanical characterization

Supporting Discovery in Biophysical and Biomechanical Fields

There is growing recognition that a multidisciplinary approach is crucial to understanding the complex mechanisms involved in molecular and cellular processes. Biophysics is an emerging field of science at the interface of biology, physics and engineering that aims to unravel how physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells, tissues, and their surrounding microenvironment can contribute to cell development, proliferation, and differentiation.

Biomechanical mechanisms play an important role in the regulation of cellular behavior, membrane dynamics and molecular biology, and have important implications for fields such as physiology, developmental biology and the pathogenesis of various diseases such as cancer and fibrosis.

Investigating nanomechanical properties at the single-cell and single-molecule level contributes towards an in depth understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control important aspects of cell physiology, and advances the design of new targeted therapies.