CAREER: Microscale Mechanobiology of Actomyosin Stress Fiber Bundles: An Integrated Program for Research and Education in Cellular Bioengineering

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The objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award is to use a combination of biophotonic, genetic, and computational tools to investigate the mechanics of actomyosin stress fibers and the underlying signaling mechanisms that control these properties. Stress fibers are micrometer-scale, contractile structural cables that traverse across living cells and enable cells to generate tractional forces against their surroundings, a process critical to locomotion and maintenance of tissue architecture. Studies conducted under this award will apply molecular biological tools to manipulate the concentrations and activities of specific molecules within stress fibers and use laser nanosurgery and related microtechnologies to investigate the contributions of these molecules to stress fiber function. In parallel, a multi-scale computational model will be developed to relate the activities of these molecular components to stress fiber mechanics and overall cellular mechanobiological properties. If successful, these studies would add significantly to the field's understanding of the molecular regulation of cytoskeletal contractility and represent a tight integration of experiment and computation. The knowledge gained from these efforts will also enhance the field's ability to manipulate cell and tissue structure and function by revealing "design principles" for cell structure and mechanics. This in turn may help drive the evolution of systems for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and other bio-interfacial technologies. The educational plan focuses on course development in cellular bioengineering at the undergraduate and graduate level as well as the creation of partnerships between the awardee's institution and two non-PhD-focused bioengineering programs for BS- and MS-level curriculum development. Both initiatives will involve extensive sharing of course material and discussions of how to effectively incorporate cellular bioengineering concepts into undergraduate and pre-professional training.