Prof. Neil Lin from UCLA visited ETH for a special Mechanobiology Seminar
Prof. Neil Lin, coming all the way from UCLA to ETH Zurich, contributed a special talk to the Mechanobiology Seminar Series on 6 December 2023.
During his European trip, Prof. Neil Lin from UCLA conducted a special seminar at ETH Zurich. The seminar was titled "Epithelial Cell Variability is Governed by Physics Principles and Has Mechanobiology Impacts". Dr. Céline Labouesse from D-MAVT was happy to welcome a fellow Mechanobiology enthusiast and organised a special edition of the Mechanobiology Seminar Series for him on St. Nicholas Day.
Prof. Neil Lin had contacted Dr. Céline Labouesse at D-MAVT after a Google search had resulted in a link to the Mechanobiology Seminar Series. Travelling through Europe, he hoped to make new meaningful (academic) connections in the field and offered to contribute a talk to the Mechanobiology Seminar Series. Needless to say that Céline didn't hesitate to agree to his request.
About thirty people attended the talk and benefitted from the lively discussion that followed the scientific insights. Prof. Lin talked about the distribution of cell shape in a confluent monolayer, and how cell shape and nuclear shape are linked. Dr. Céline Labouesse reported that it was interesting to see how variability in cell properties arise, and how the nucleus and the cytoplasm size are coordinated, through the actin cytoskeleton and osmotic pressure. Most of all, Prof. Lin demonstrated how one can approach questions such as noise and variability from a physics perspective to better understand biological systems.
And the key-takeaway? Never underestimate the power of Google - it may lead to new meaningful connections that advance your own research!
Interested in Mechanobiology? Check out the Mechanobiology Seminar Series website.