How do nascent adhesions grow into mature focal adhesions?
How do nascent adhesions grow into mature focal adhesions? Nascent adhesions undergo a transient phase of rapid assembly and disassembly through which a fraction of adhesions survive to evolve into more stable and larger [...]
What is the role of Rho GTPases in the regulation of focal adhesion assembly?
What is the role of Rho GTPases in the regulation of focal adhesion assembly? Synergistic integrin-syndecan signaling The rate and extent of focal adhesion formation and maturation are regulated by factors such as synergistic [...]
What steps are involved in the formation of focal adhesions?
What steps are involved in the formation of focal adhesions? The assembly of focal adhesions is highly regulated, with protein recruitment occurring in a sequential manner [1], and resulting in structures that are organized [...]
What are actin filaments?
What are actin filaments? Actin filaments (F-actin) are linear polymers of globular actin (G-actin) subunits and occur as microfilaments in the cytoskeleton and as thin filaments, which are part of the contractile apparatus, in [...]
What is the cytoskeleton?
What is the Cytoskeleton? The eukaryotic cytoskeleton is a network of three long filament systems, made from the repetitive assembly and disassembly of dynamic protein components. The primary filament systems comprising the cytoskeleton are [...]
Arikta and Yuting shared their research as speakers at the MBI Conference 2023
Congratulations to Arikta and Yuting for being selected as speakers and sharing their latest research on ovarian folliculogenesis in MBI Conference 2023: Mechanobiology in Health and Disease. Thanks to various feedback following the talks!
Jokhun Doorgesh Sharma
Alumni
Whether it was because of my rich ‘scientific’ sachildhood or my unflinching preference for science in high school, I had known for a long time that I was to work in a scientific field. But when I started to apply for undergraduate programs, it was really hard to choose between Life Sciences, Physics or engineering. I eventually ended up doing Life Sciences at the National University of Singapore (NUS); but my soft spot for physical sciences persisted and I registered for quite a few random physics and engineering courses along the way.
My first encounter with formal research was during a summer internship at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR. Following that I embarked on a one year undergraduate research project at NUS in which I helped set up an autogenic platform for differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). I was really fascinated by the whole experience and decided to undertake my Final Year Project in the same lab.
In my final semester, I enrolled for the undergraduate Mechanobiology course (LSM4234) and learned about the MechanoBiology Institute (MBI), where so much exciting biological research is being conducted using truly multi-disciplinary approaches. I was really excited by the prospect of working in Biology while still being in touch with Physics. Thus I joined Prof. Shivashankar’s lab as a Research Assistant in 2013 and after one year, I was very convinced this is where I want to be. The atmosphere is very conducive, members of Shiva’s lab are truly amazing people :-D and I am addressing questions which are intellectually very stimulating to me. Hence in Aug 2014 I joined Prof. Shivashankar’s group under the PhD program in Mechanobiology.
I have been studying how different extracellular matrix (ECM) constraints impinge on the stability of telomeres inside the nucleus. I observed that under certain matrix constraints, the telomeres can become very dynamic. Now I am interested in understanding the mechanism and biological significance of this instability, especially in the context of epigenetic reprogramming. Further, since telomeres are known to be hotspots for DNA damage, I want to study DNA damage and repair on highly dynamic telomeres. One question which has been bothering me for some time now is how most DNA damages (several tens of thousands per cell per day) are properly taken care of by intrinsic mechanisms, whereas once in a while, a cell will acquire damage in an irreparable manner and turn tumorous. Does mechanics play a role in that?
