Lim Group, Ladoux Group

SAW Thuan Beng

Alumni, Research Associate, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore

mbistb@nus.edu.sg
Level 9 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411

Building the Future of Cell Biology Together at Cell Bio 2026

Professor Rong Li, President of the American Society for Cell Biology calls for participation for Cell Bio 2026 in San Diego. The meeting will feature more than 400 scientific talks and over 2,500 poster presentations, alongside symposia, minisymposia, and special interest subgroup sessions selected by the Program Committee directly from member-suggested topics.

By Yee Shu Brenda|Jun 19th, 2026|Categories: News|Comments Off on Building the Future of Cell Biology Together at Cell Bio 2026

Seeking Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Vascular Mechano-medicine Lab led by Dr. Shailaja Seetharaman at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS

We are seeking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the research group of Dr. Shailaja Seetharaman at the Mechanobiology Institute and Department of Physiology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS.

By Wen Ying Lois Faith|May 22nd, 2026|Categories: Jobs|Comments Off on Seeking Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Vascular Mechano-medicine Lab led by Dr. Shailaja Seetharaman at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS

A Cell Never Forgets: How Prior Environments Affect Confined Cell Migration

Researchers from the Holle Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS discover that cells retain mechanical memory that influences subsequent migration despite environmental changes, suggesting broader implications for understanding wound healing, fibrosis and cancer metastasis.

By Yee Shu Brenda|May 21st, 2026|Categories: Featured Research, Holle Lab, MBInsights, Science Features|Comments Off on A Cell Never Forgets: How Prior Environments Affect Confined Cell Migration

Force sensing in cells at the single molecule level

Professor Yan Jie and his team from the Mechanobiology Institute collaborated with Professor Liu Xiaogang from the Department of Chemistry, NUS, to determine the exact force needed to activate Piezo1, via a DNA-based approach.

By Yee Shu Brenda|May 5th, 2026|Categories: News, Yan Jie Lab|Comments Off on Force sensing in cells at the single molecule level

Saw Thuan Beng

Alumni, Research Associate

Principal Investigator

CT Lim, Benoit Ladoux

Research Interests

Molecular Mechanisms of Mechanobiology

Recent Publications

  1. Jiang X, Xu P, Feng F, Grenci G, and Saw TB. Revealing Electromechanical Control of Tissue Homeostasis Using a Two-Layer Microfluidic Device. J Vis Exp 2025;(223). [PMID: 41052031]
  2. Wang Y, Wang Y, Zhu Y, Yu P, Zhou F, Zhang A, Gu Y, Jin R, Li J, Zheng F, Yu A, Ye D, Xu Y, Liu Y, Saw TB, Hu G, Lim CT, and Yu F. Angiomotin cleavage promotes leader formation and collective cell migration. Dev Cell 2024;. [PMID: 39389053]
  3. Delanoë-Ayari H, Hiraiwa T, Marcq P, Rieu J, and Saw TB. 2.5D Traction Force Microscopy: Imaging three-dimensional cell forces at interfaces and biological applications. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2023;:106432. [PMID: 37290687]
  4. . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36103541
  5. Balasubramaniam L, Doostmohammadi A, Saw TB, Narayana GHNS, Mueller R, Dang T, Thomas M, Gupta S, Sonam S, Yap AS, Toyama Y, Mège R, Yeomans JM, and Ladoux B. Author Correction: Investigating the nature of active forces in tissues reveals how contractile cells can form extensile monolayers. Nat Mater 2021;. [PMID: 33750921]
  6. Balasubramaniam L, Doostmohammadi A, Saw TB, Narayana GHNS, Mueller R, Dang T, Thomas M, Gupta S, Sonam S, Yap AS, Toyama Y, Mège R, Yeomans JM, and Ladoux B. Investigating the nature of active forces in tissues reveals how contractile cells can form extensile monolayers. Nat Mater 2021;. [PMID: 33603188]
  7. Teo JL, Lim CT, Yap AS, and Saw TB. A Biologist's Guide to Traction Force Microscopy Using Polydimethylsiloxane Substrate for Two-Dimensional Cell Cultures. STAR Protoc 2020; 1(2):100098. [PMID: 33111126]
  8. Chen T, Saw TB, Mège R, and Ladoux B. Mechanical forces in cell monolayers. J. Cell. Sci. 2018; 131(24). [PMID: 30573527]
  9. Saw TB, Xi W, Ladoux B, and Lim CT. Biological Tissues as Active Nematic Liquid Crystals. Adv. Mater. Weinheim 2018;:e1802579. [PMID: 30156334]
  10. Saw TB, Doostmohammadi A, Nier V, Kocgozlu L, Thampi S, Toyama Y, Marcq P, Lim CT, Yeomans JM, and Ladoux B. Topological defects in epithelia govern cell death and extrusion. Nature 2017; 544(7649):212-216. [PMID: 28406198]
By Management|2018-01-22T15:53:47+08:00Apr 25th, 2017|Categories: Alumni|Comments Off on Saw Thuan Beng

About the National University of Singapore

About NUSA leading global university centred in Asia, NUS is Singapore's flagship university, offering a global approach to education and research with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise.

About the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore

About MBIOne of four Research Centres of Excellence at NUS, MBI is working to identify, measure and describe how the forces for motility and morphogenesis are expressed at the molecular, cellular and tissue level.
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