Abstract:

During growth and development, tissue dynamics, such as tissue folding, cell intercalations and oriented cell divisions, are critical for shaping tissues and organs. However, less is known about how tissues regulate their dynamics during tissue homeostasis and repair, to maintain their shape after development. In this talk, we will discuss how mechanical forces can influence each of these processes, such as how differential growth rates can generate precise folds in tissues. We will also discuss how tissues respond to mechanical perturbations, such as stretching or wounding, by altering their mechanical properties, to change tissue dynamics, and thus preserve tissue shape and patterning. We combine genetics, experimental biophysics and computational modelling across multiple animal model systems to study these processes.

 

Biosketch CV:

Yanlan Mao is a Group Leader and Professor of Developmental Biophysics at the Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, and Deputy Director of the UCL Institute for the Physics of Living Systems. After receiving her BA in Natural Sciences (1st Class) at Cambridge University, she completed her PhD with Matthew Freeman at the MRC LMB in Cambridge on Drosophila cell signaling and epithelial patterning. During her postdoc with Nic Tapon at the CRUK London Research Institute (now Francis Crick Institute), she became interested in tissue mechanics and computational modeling approaches, and studied the role of mechanical forces in orienting cell divisions and controlling tissue shape. In 2014, Yanlan started her independent research group, and has continued to investigate the role of mechanical forces in tissue development, homeostasis and repair. She now holds an MRC Senior Fellowship, a Lister Institute Prize and an L’Oreal UNESCO Women in Science Fellowship. She was selected to join the EMBO Young Investigator Programme in 2018, and has received numerous awards for her work, including the Early Career Prize in Mechanobiology by the Biophysical Society, the BSCB Women in Cell Biology Early Career Medal, and the Royal Microscopic Society Life Sciences Medal.

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