Gianluca GRENCI
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore
Facility Manager, Nano and Microfabrication Core
mbigg@nus.edu.sg
Level 10 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411
Seeking Postdoctoral Research Fellow for collaborative project between Dr. Yin Loon Lee and Prof. Alexander Bershadsky at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
The Mechanobiology Institute, NUS seeks to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for a collaborative project between Dr. Yin Loon Lee (A*STAR) and Prof. Alexander Bershadsky.
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
Gianluca Grenci
Research Assistant Professor, Facility Manager
Research Interests
Microfluidics, Micro-optical systems for live cell imaging
Our laboratory is primarily interested in the application of micro/nano fabrication technology to biological science. We exploit standard and advanced micro-fabrication tools in order to design and produce systems and devices for cell culturing and imaging. Examples of such devices are: topographically and/or chemically micro-textured environments, microfluidic devices, micro-optical systems and more.
We are also interested in developing microfluidic devices for FTIR spectromicroscopy of living cells. FTIR is an imaging technique that is intrinsically label-free and requires minimal sample preparation; when coupled with microscopy and high brilliance IR sources it allows the acquisition of chemical maps at a resolution which is diffraction limited. Absorption of IR photons induces very low or no damage at all, therefore it is in principle possible to observe for prolonged time the behaviour of living cells. Our research activity is intended to develope microfludic platforms suitable for FTIR (key parameters are optical transparency and low IR absorption) while keeping cells alive and healthy; a beneficial feature provided by micro-fabrication approach is the possibility to control of the chemical environment at the micro-scale.
Research Areas
Micro/nano engineering, microfluidic, FTIR
Biography
Dr Gianluca Grenci joined MBI in 2012 as a research fellow and head of the Micro Fabrication Core facility. Previously he was employed at the LILIT micro/nano fabrication group (IOM-CNR, Trieste, IT) for a total of 6 years, during which he was mainly involved in the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices for synchrotron-light related spectroscopic techniques, such as SAXS and FTIR. He thus developed extensive practical knowledge on all the major lithographic technologies (UV and EB lithography, wet/dry etching, soft-lithography, thin films deposition), plus some less usual and/or more advanced technique, such as X-ray Lithography and LIGA.
He did his PhD in the field of applied superconductivity, in a project aimed to develop a current cryo-comparator (CCC) using high critical temperature superconductors of the cuprate family (YBCO) in the form of a thick film deposited onto a large area, complex shaped silver substrate.
Education
PhD Polytechnic of Torino, DISPEA
Recent Publications
- Zhang Z, Canela A, Kurisu J, Zou P, Kawaue T, Nakazawa N, Takeda N, Saeki M, Utsunomiya M, Bilgic M, Ishidate F, Grenci G, Furuta T, Kishi Y, Sasanuma H, and Kengaku M. Confined migration induces non-lethal DNA damage in developing neurons. Nature 2026;. [PMID: 42310452]
- Gandin A, Torresan V, Panciera T, Grenci G, Vanni G, Citron A, Marchionni M, Battilana G, Pelosin M, Busetto R, Piccolo S, and Brusatin G. Flexible high-resolution ECM micropatterning. Nat Protoc 2026;. [PMID: 42129485]
- Dunsing-Eichenauer V, Hummert J, Chardès C, Schönau T, Guignard L, Galland R, Grenci G, Tillmann M, Koberling F, Nock C, Sibarita J, Viasnoff V, Antolovic IM, Erdmann R, and Lenne P. Fast volumetric fluorescence lifetime imaging of multicellular systems using single-objective light-sheet microscopy. Commun Biol 2025;. [PMID: 41315677]
- 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]
- Cabillic M, Forriere H, Bettarel L, Butler C, Neuhaus A, Idrissi I, Sambrano-Lopez ME, Rossbroich J, Müller L, Ries J, Grenci G, Viasnoff V, Levet F, Sibarita J, and Galland R. In-depth single molecule localization microscopy using adaptive optics and single objective light-sheet microscopy. Nat Commun 2025; 16(1):8362. [PMID: 40993142]
- Mu B, Rutkowski DM, Grenci G, Vavylonis D, and Zhang D. Ca2+-dependent vesicular and non-vesicular lipid transfer controls hypoosmotic plasma membrane expansion. BMC Biol 2025; 23(1):207. [PMID: 40629316]
- Ong HT, Karatas E, Poquillon T, Grenci G, Furlan A, Dilasser F, Mohamad Raffi SB, Blanc D, Drimaracci E, Mikec D, Galisot G, Johnson BA, Liu AZ, Thiel C, Ullrich O, , Racine V, and Beghin A. Digitalized organoids: integrated pipeline for high-speed 3D analysis of organoid structures using multilevel segmentation and cellular topology. Nat Methods 2025;. [PMID: 40369245]
- Arora A, Rizvi MS, Grenci G, Dilasser F, Fu C, Ganguly M, Vaishnavi S, Paramsivam K, Budnar S, Noordstra I, Yap AS, and Viasnoff V. Viscous dissipation in the rupture of cell-cell contacts. Nat Mater 2025;. [PMID: 40355570]
- Nakazawa N, Grenci G, Kameo Y, Takeda N, Sawada T, Kurisu J, Zhang Z, Toma K, Adachi T, Nonomura K, and Kengaku M. PIEZO1-dependent mode switch of neuronal migration in heterogeneous microenvironments in the developing brain. Cell Rep 2025; 44(3):115405. [PMID: 40053456]
- Suryana M, Produit T, Yang H, Birarda G, Shanmugar JV, Krivitsky L, Paterova A, and Grenci G. Infrared imaging with visible light in microfluidic devices: the water absorption barrier. Analyst 2024;. [PMID: 39692693]
Selected Publications
- Mona Suryana, Jegan V. Shanmugarajah, Sivakumar M. Maniam, Gianluca Grenci. Soft Lithographic Procedure for Producing Plastic Microfluidic Devices with View-ports Transparent to Visible and Infrared Light
- Mohammed Ashraf, Sree V. Sundararajan, Gianluca Grenci. Low-power, low-pressure reactive-ion etching process for silicon etching with vertical and smooth walls for mechanobiology application
Lab Members
What is the first step in podosome assembly?
What is the first step in podosome assembly? Podosome initiation and assembly is highly regulated, both spatially and temporally. Dendritic cells best exemplify the temporal regulation of podosome formation. Following activation by an antigen [...]
What mechanisms drive cytoskeleton extension within podosomes?
What mechanisms drive cytoskeleton extension within podosomes? Interactions between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell surface integrins leads to podosome formation. The initiating signal is transduced through mechanosensing integrins to the cytoskeleton, upon which [...]
What are stress fibers?
What are stress fibers? Stress fibers are higher order cytoskeletal structures composed of cross-linked actin filament bundles, and in many cases, myosin motor proteins, that span a length of 1-2 micrometers [1]. At least [...]
What are the steps in dorsal stress fiber formation?
What are the steps in dorsal stress fiber formation? Dorsal stress fibers in motile cells are formed from actin filament bundles that are initiated and extended from cell-substrate adhesions at the leading edge (aka [...]
What are the steps in the formation of transverse arcs?
What are the steps in the formation of transverse arcs? In general, initiation of stress fiber formation is modulated by signaling cascades involving RhoA small GTPase [1] (reviewed in [2]). Most G-actin polymerization is [...]
What are the steps in ventral stress fiber formation?
What are the steps in ventral stress fiber formation? Recent data suggests that ventral stress fibers are created by reorganizing pre-existing dorsal stress fibers and transverse arcs [1].Other contrasting models for the formation of [...]
How is stress fiber assembly regulated?
How is stress fiber assembly regulated? Tension-dependent actin polymerization and assembly of stress fibers is influenced by many factors (reviewed in [1][2]), including differences in substrate composition [3], rigidity [4][5][6] (reviewed in [7]), cell [...]
What is axon guidance and the growth cone?
What is axon guidance and the growth cone? Axon guidance is an important step in neural development. It allows growing axons to reach specific destinations and ultimately form the complex neuronal networks throughout the [...]
What are Motor Proteins?
What are Motor Proteins? Motor proteins, such as myosins and kinesins, move along cytoskeletal filaments via a force-dependent mechanism that is driven by the hydrolysis of ATP molecules (reviewed in [1]). Nucleotide hydrolysis and [...]
How do motor proteins transport cargo along the cytoskeleton?
How do motor proteins transport cargo along the cytoskeleton? Along with providing structural support to the cell, and transmitting force signals, cytoskeletal filaments also provide cells with a network of ‘tracks’ that can be [...]
What is Myosin?
What is Myosin? An Introduction to the Myosin Superfamily of Proteins Myosin I has unique tail domain(s) relative to other myosin members which allows myosin I to bind to membrane lipids or to more [...]
Why are membrane lipids asymmetrical?
Why are membrane lipids asymmetrical? The human red blood cell is functionally specialized for transporting oxygen. In order to maximize oxygen capacity, it has no nucleus or organelles, consisting primarily of plasma membrane and [...]
Former Lab Members
What is the first step in podosome assembly?
What is the first step in podosome assembly? Podosome initiation and assembly is highly regulated, both spatially and temporally. Dendritic cells best exemplify the temporal regulation of podosome formation. Following activation by an antigen [...]
What mechanisms drive cytoskeleton extension within podosomes?
What mechanisms drive cytoskeleton extension within podosomes? Interactions between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell surface integrins leads to podosome formation. The initiating signal is transduced through mechanosensing integrins to the cytoskeleton, upon which [...]
What are stress fibers?
What are stress fibers? Stress fibers are higher order cytoskeletal structures composed of cross-linked actin filament bundles, and in many cases, myosin motor proteins, that span a length of 1-2 micrometers [1]. At least [...]
What are the steps in dorsal stress fiber formation?
What are the steps in dorsal stress fiber formation? Dorsal stress fibers in motile cells are formed from actin filament bundles that are initiated and extended from cell-substrate adhesions at the leading edge (aka [...]
What are the steps in the formation of transverse arcs?
What are the steps in the formation of transverse arcs? In general, initiation of stress fiber formation is modulated by signaling cascades involving RhoA small GTPase [1] (reviewed in [2]). Most G-actin polymerization is [...]
What are the steps in ventral stress fiber formation?
What are the steps in ventral stress fiber formation? Recent data suggests that ventral stress fibers are created by reorganizing pre-existing dorsal stress fibers and transverse arcs [1].Other contrasting models for the formation of [...]
How is stress fiber assembly regulated?
How is stress fiber assembly regulated? Tension-dependent actin polymerization and assembly of stress fibers is influenced by many factors (reviewed in [1][2]), including differences in substrate composition [3], rigidity [4][5][6] (reviewed in [7]), cell [...]
What is axon guidance and the growth cone?
What is axon guidance and the growth cone? Axon guidance is an important step in neural development. It allows growing axons to reach specific destinations and ultimately form the complex neuronal networks throughout the [...]
What are Motor Proteins?
What are Motor Proteins? Motor proteins, such as myosins and kinesins, move along cytoskeletal filaments via a force-dependent mechanism that is driven by the hydrolysis of ATP molecules (reviewed in [1]). Nucleotide hydrolysis and [...]
How do motor proteins transport cargo along the cytoskeleton?
How do motor proteins transport cargo along the cytoskeleton? Along with providing structural support to the cell, and transmitting force signals, cytoskeletal filaments also provide cells with a network of ‘tracks’ that can be [...]
What is Myosin?
What is Myosin? An Introduction to the Myosin Superfamily of Proteins Myosin I has unique tail domain(s) relative to other myosin members which allows myosin I to bind to membrane lipids or to more [...]
Why are membrane lipids asymmetrical?
Why are membrane lipids asymmetrical? The human red blood cell is functionally specialized for transporting oxygen. In order to maximize oxygen capacity, it has no nucleus or organelles, consisting primarily of plasma membrane and [...]
