
Benoit LADOUX
Visiting Faculty, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Research Director, Université Paris Diderot & Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Laboratory website
Cell Adhesion and Mechanics Lab
Research Program
Mechanotransduction in Tissues Group
Affiliations
Research Director, Université Paris Diderot & Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Seeking Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the group of Asst. Prof. Jennifer Young at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
The Mechanobiology Institute, NUS seeks to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to Asst. Prof. Jennifer Young's lab.
Super excited about the arrival of our optical coherence microscopy! Stay tuned for exciting data in the near future…
A huge thanks to Ling Wang from the Prevedel lab (EMBL Heidelberg) for helping us to set up this device!
Seeking Research Fellow in the Confinement Mechanobiology group at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
We are seeking to fill a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral Fellow) position in nanobiotechnology.
Biomaterial shows how ageing in the heart could be reversed
A new lab-grown material has revealed that some of the effects of ageing in the heart may be slowed and even reversed. The discovery could open the door to therapies that rejuvenate the heart by changing its cellular environment, rather than focusing on the heart cells themselves.Learn more
Rejuvenation of aged egg cells
MBI researchers collaborated with NUS Bia-Echo Asia Centre for Reproductive Longevity and Equality, based at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, to develop an innovative technique to significantly enhance the reproductive potential of aged oocytes, or immature egg cells, potentially paving the way for better outcomes of assisted reproductive technologies, such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), for older females. Learn more
Seeking Research Assistant in Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
We are seeking a Research Assistant in Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology in the lab of Prof. Lim Chwee Teck at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS.
Benoit Ladoux
Visiting Faculty
Research Areas
Epithelial cell migration; microfabrication for cell mechanics; influence of the mechanical environments on cell functions; mechanotransduction
Research Interests
Our research aims at understanding how living organisms interact with their environment. In particular, we are studying the cooperation between adhesion, biomechanical and biochemical signaling for the adaptation of living organisms to changes in their environment. To probe these questions, our laboratory has developed a repertoire of micro- and nano-fabrication tools to control and measure the chemical and mechanical environment of cells. Our research programme thus focuses on the integration of novel microfabricated devices for the quantitative imaging of living organisms.
Biography
With a background in Physics, Prof Ladoux started his career at Curie Institute working on single molecule biophysics. He worked on two main problems combining statistical physics, microfabrication and molecular biology: 1) chromatin condensation in real time; 2) fluctuations of a single polymer under shear flows. After a post-doc on cell mechanics, he used his knowledge in biophysics and microfabrication to start a new subject on mechanical studies of cell migration and adhesion at the University Paris Diderot. He developed microsystems to characterise the mechanical interactions of cells with their migration support. He is currently working on rigidity sensing, collective cell migration and tissue homeostasis.
Recent Publications
- Shiratsuchi N, Fujita Y, Simon de Beco , Daubech C, Ladoux B, Grata A, Levayer R, Magny E, O'Brien LE, Priya R, Mitchell SJ, Rosenblatt J, Rupprecht J, Stockmann L, Sedzinski J, Roquin L, Suzanne M, Toyama Y, Matekcic M, Trepat X, Vinzens S, Wickström SA, Lwin AKO, and Yap AS. Meeting report - CellExIt#1, the first international symposium on cell extrusion. J Cell Sci 2026; 139(14). [PMID: 42504880]
- Balasubramaniam L, Monfared S, Ardaševa A, Rosse C, Schoenit A, Dang T, Maric C, Hautefeuille M, Kocgozlu L, Chilupuri R, Dubey S, Marangoni E, L Doss B, Chavrier P, Mège R, Doostmohammadi A, and Ladoux B. Dynamic forces shape the survival fate of eliminated cells. Nat Phys 2025;. [PMID: 40636322]
- Kawaue T, Yow I, Pan Y, Le AP, Lou Y, Loberas M, Shagirov M, Teng X, Prost J, Hiraiwa T, Ladoux B, and Toyama Y. Inhomogeneous mechanotransduction defines the spatial pattern of apoptosis-induced compensatory proliferation. Dev Cell 2023;. [PMID: 36800994]
- Sonam S, Balasubramaniam L, Lin S, Ivan YMY, Jaumà IP, Jebane C, Karnat M, Toyama Y, Marcq P, Prost J, Mège R, Rupprecht J, and Ladoux B. Mechanical stress driven by rigidity sensing governs epithelial stability. Nat Phys 2022; 19:132-141. [PMID: 36686215]
- Rose N, Estrada Chavez B, Sonam S, Nguyen T, Grenci G, Bigot A, Muchir A, Ladoux B, Cadot B, Le Grand F, and Trichet L. Bioengineering a miniaturized in vitro 3D myotube contraction monitoring chip to model muscular dystrophies. Biomaterials 2022; 293:121935. [PMID: 36584444]
- . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36103541
- Yang Y, Nguyen E, Sankara Narayana GHN, Heuzé M, Fu C, Yu H, Mège R, Ladoux B, and Sheetz MP. Local contractions regulate E-cadherin rigidity sensing. Sci Adv 2022; 8(4):eabk0387. [PMID: 35089785]
- . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33850145
- Latorre E, Kale S, Casares L, Gómez-González M, Uroz M, Valon L, Nair RV, Garreta E, Montserrat N, Del Campo A, Ladoux B, Arroyo M, and Trepat X. Addendum: Active superelasticity in three-dimensional epithelia of controlled shape. Nature 2021;. [PMID: 33846613]
- 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]
Lab Members
Fimbrin
Fimbrin Fimbrin (aka plastin homologue, accumentin) is an actin binding protein that was originally identified in microvilli [1][2]. This schematic diagram illustrates the molecular organization of fimbrin as depicted in this resource, and [...]
I-BAR and Other Proteins/Factors
I-BAR and Other Proteins/Factors Proteins containing I-BAR (inverted Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs i.e. IRSp53 Missing-in-metastasis homology Domain or IMD) cooperate with various components of actin filament assembly, to promote filopodia protrusion, via several mechanisms including the stimulation [...]
What is capping protein?
What is capping protein? Capping protein is involved in actin filament assembly and disassembly Capping proteins control access to the free barbed ends of actin filaments and is therefore a major factor affecting actin [...]
How are intermediate filaments assembled?
How are intermediate filaments assembled? The soluble subunit for creating intermediate filaments is a tetramer. The tetramer is created from monomers in a stepwise fashion (as reviewed in [1]). First, two monomers associate via [...]
What are microtubules?
What are microtubules? Microtubules are hollow cylinders [1] that are approximately 25nm in diameter [2] and vary in length from 200 nm to 25 μm. They are formed by the lateral association of between [...]
How does the tubulin complex assemble?
How does the tubulin complex assemble? Microtubules are made up of repeating units of α/β- tubulin heterodimers, which are assembled on a γ-tubulin ring complex (a complex of γ-tubulin and other protein components), during [...]
How is microtubule assembly/disassembly regulated?
How is microtubule assembly/disassembly regulated? GTP hydrolysis has been shown to be a key regulator of microtubule polymerization dynamics. Although the exact mechanisms are poorly understood, two opposing models have been proposed to describe [...]
What is microtubule dynamic instability?
What is microtubule dynamic instability? In most cell types, thirteen protofilaments associate laterally to form a microtubule. In a few cases microtubules contain more or fewer protofilaments [1]. Numerous interactions between the subunits give [...]
What is the role of microtubules in mechanotransduction?
What is the role of microtubules in mechanotransduction? Microtubules exist in all cells, however their influence in the mechanotransduction of mechanical stimuli has been described at length in cardiac striated muscle [1]. Mechanical stimuli [...]
What are Contractile Fibers?
What are Contractile Fibers? Certain myosin isoforms (i.e. myosin II) form bipolar assemblies via the extended coiled-coil domains in the heavy chains (see also “thick filaments”). Actin “thin filaments” with opposite polarity associate with [...]
What is Actomyosin?
What is Actomyosin? Actomyosin refers to the actin-myosin complex that forms within the cytoskeleton. Actomyosin is inherently contractile, with the myosin motor protein able to pull on actin filaments. This property gives rise to [...]
How is actomoysin contractility regulated?
How does the contractome protein network regulate actomyosin contractility? Non-muscle myosin II isoforms have a similar structure and function to their muscle equivalents. However, their interaction with actin serves to generate cellular forces rather [...]

